


Stolen Hearts

by HPfangirl_13



Category: Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: 1x04 tag, AU, F/M, Forbidden Love, Higgy is a detective with HPD, Thomas is a "bad guy", art heist, but not really, criminal/cop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:15:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25868800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HPfangirl_13/pseuds/HPfangirl_13
Summary: When Detective Juliet Higgins is assigned to help investigate a recent art theft, she gets more than she bargained for when her suspect is Thomas Magnum, a good man caught in a tricky situation. AU
Relationships: Juliet Higgins/Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV
Comments: 74
Kudos: 135





	1. The Heist

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I am back with a new story based on a prompt on Tumblr from @annieimpala67 . The premise was too good to pass up! This is my first attempt at a multichapter story, so I hope I can update regularly. I don't know how many chapters this is going to have yet, but I am currently working on Chapter 3 now. I'm hoping that I can do this prompt justice and that everyone seems in character... Please feel free to shoot me a message or leave a comment with suggestions and critiques! They would be much appreciated! Enjoy!

Higgins zoned out as she stared at her computer screen. She only had a few more things to add to the report she was finishing on a drug case that she had just closed.  _ Then, I will finally be free to go home and take a long bath… Maybe have a glass of wine…  _ she mused to herself.

Lord knows she certainly didn’t get enough downtime, but she supposed she never had. Life as an MI6 agent had been tiring and stressful, and her current job as a detective in the Honolulu Police Department had been fast-paced and exhausting as well. Between the long hours, dangerous suspects, and her somewhat annoying coworkers, Juliet had found herself trapped in a seemingly endless cycle of working twelve hours and then crashing out for a few hours before returning to the precinct the next morning to do it all over again.

She really couldn’t picture her life any differently, though. Law enforcement had always been her specialty, and as tiring as it was sometimes, she was fantastic at her job. Something about solving investigations and bringing criminals to justice gave her a thrill that she could never find anywhere else. She also immensely enjoyed her ability to help people and found that assisting people in need or bringing them answers to a problem in their lives was a huge part of why she loved her job.

“Alright, Higgins, I’m heading out.” sighed her fellow detective and friend Gordon Katsumoto, standing up from his desk across from hers. “Are you almost done with your paperwork from yesterday? You’ve been staring at that report for the past fifteen minutes.”

Juliet let out an exasperated sigh. “A few more sentences should do it, I suppose.” Although Juliet loved solving crimes, she detested the ungodly stacks of paperwork that came along with them.

“Have a good night, Gordon, I’ll see you tomorrow” she replied with a tired smile.

After Gordon waved to her as he exited the squad room, Juliet sat up straighter and convinced herself that she would be done with this report and out the door in the next ten minutes.

Just as she had finalized her report and was packing her bag to head home, the phone on her desk rang.

“Higgins,” she said tiredly, hoping the phonecall would not mean a new case tonight. 

Unfortunately, she was wrong.

On the other end of the phone was her Sargeant, Robin Masters, informing her of an art heist in progress that was just thwarted at a penthouse in an upscale highrise building in downtown Honolulu.

“The robbery task force has been trying to nab these thieves for months,” Masters explained. “We don’t know much about them other than that they go after private collections belonging to wealthy people. It’s a relief that we’ve finally caught them during one of their operations. They were in the process of stealing a few multimillion-dollar pieces from an affluent British businessman named Jack Candler. Do you know him, Higgins?”

Juliet laughed a little at Robin’s assumption that she would know Candler simply because they were both British. She had heard of him though, most people on the island had; he possessed investments all over Hawaii and in Europe.

“I’ve heard his name before,” she replied. “If the robbery task has already apprehended the suspects, what more could I do?

“Well, I know thefts aren’t your usual cup of tea Juliet, but you do have a knack for getting difficult suspects to give up information. One of the suspects was caught at the scene, but there was another suspect that fled with a few of the paintings before the task force moved in. The suspect we have in custody, a man named Thomas Magnum, is refusing to give up any information about his accomplice and where they and the missing painting might be. I thought that you could maybe head down there on your way home and ask him a couple of questions tonight? Maybe see how cooperative he would be with you. You have a way of getting people to talk.”

Higgins sighed once more.  _ So much for that bath and wine,  _ she thought to herself. 

“I will stop by the scene on my way home, Sargeant,” she replied. “But would you mind if I save the majority of the interrogations for tomorrow? I presume this Mr. Magnum will be spending the night in holding?”

“Sure, Higgins, it is not pressing that we get all of the information tonight. There was no violence involved, and no one is missing. And I know that you have been putting in almost double-overtime lately. I wouldn’t bother you at all with this if you weren’t my best detective.” Masters replied.

“Thank you, sir,” she smiled. “I will call you with an update tomorrow after I’ve had a more in-depth conversation with Magnum.”

“Very well, Juliet. Goodnight.”

Picking up her purse as she hung up the phone, Juliet wondered what kind of man this Thomas Magnum was and how easy it would be to try and get him to give up his partner.

_ Well, I guess we’ll see,  _ she thought before walking out into the Hawaiian evening.

  
  


When Juliet arrived at the scene, it was clear there were already plenty of officers on site. She walked into the lobby of the high-end building and flashed her badge at an officer before being escorted up to the 15th floor where the theft occurred.

Stepping off the elevator, Higgins realized that Mr. Candler must be a very wealthy man indeed. Almost everything she saw looked to be insanely expensive. She saw a woman walking towards her from the far side of the penthouse and shook the hand that she offered.

“Hi, I’m Tani Rey with the Robbery Task Force. You must be Detective Higgins. Sargeant Masters mentioned you would be stopping by. Hopefully, you can make some headway with this guy about who his partner is and where he went because he’s not saying a thing. His name is Thomas Magnum. He just keeps complaining that the cuffs are too tight and asking for a poké bowl,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Nice to meet you, Officer Rey,” replied Juliet. “Surely this can’t be this man’s first run-in with the law? Has he been this difficult before?”

“That’s the weird thing,” said Tani. “My partner looked him up in the database, and he has no record whatsoever; he doesn’t have so much as a speeding ticket. That’s extremely unusual for someone who has possibly stolen countless expensive artifacts.”

Juliet frowned. That was odd. Usually, people involved in a heist like this were career criminals. Maybe this was part of the reason why Masters had insisted she talk with this man.

“I’m just here to try to see if he’ll open up tonight,” she said. “I’m due for a proper interview with him tomorrow morning.”

“Great. Masters said you were the best at getting people to crack,” Tani replied. “Follow me.”

Juliet followed Tani back through the penthouse to a large room filled with paintings and sculptures. There were countless Crime Scene Unit personnel taking photos in the room and swabbing the spots on the wall where the missing paintings had been. She spotted who she presumed was Thomas Magnum almost instantly. He was in an all-black tactical suit standing next to a table that had what Higgins guessed to be his confiscated tools and gadgets on it. His hands were cuffed behind his back, and another officer was standing with him.

Before Juliet knew it, she and Detective Rey were standing in front of Magnum and the other officer.

“I’m Officer Reigns,” said the man, introducing himself. “I’m guessing my partner had filled you in on the situation?”

“Yes, I will take it from here,” replied Juliet. 

“Be our guest,” Reigns replied with a smile before walking away with Tani to go talk with the CSU techs.

Juliet turned her attention to Magnum, who was looking at her with a cocky grin.

“Hi,” he smiled. “What’s your name?”

He had asked her so casually as if talking to a woman he had just met at a pub or a party that it had taken Juliet aback. Typically, suspects did not speak to her like they were trying to make a friend.

“My name is Detective Higgins. I’m with HPD, and I’m here to ask you a few questions about your operation and your friend who left you here and took off with close to 20 million dollars worth of art.”

“Look, it’s not that I don’t want to talk to you about this, it’s just that It’s late and I’m a little hungry. Do you think I could have something to eat? Pretty please?” He smirked, meeting her eyes directly.

“I’m afraid that’s not how this works, Mr. Magnum,” Higgins replied. “If you cooperate and give me some information regarding the identity and location of your partner, then I will talk to the transporting officer about letting you have a bite to eat once you get to holding for the night.”

Magnum gave her a big smile. “Thank you, Higgy! You’re the nicest cop I’ve talked to all night. Do you know what they are serving on the menu there tonight?”

Higgins frowned. “What did you just call me?”

“Higgy. It’s cute, and it seems like a fitting nickname for you.”

“You may address me as Detective or Detective Higgins,” Juliet scoffed at him. “I do not tolerate pet names. And being in a holding cell at an HPD precinct is not the same as staying at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. You will eat whatever they give you. If they give you anything.”

“I’m just trying to be friendly,” he smiled. “I didn’t mean to offend you. And as for the food, I won’t be picky tonight since I’m so hungry. What would you like to know again?

Juliet sighed with annoyance. This man was getting on her nerves already.

“Let’s start with the name of your partner. The one who fled before HPD arrived.”

“His name is Jin. I don’t know what his last name is. It was our first time working together.” Thomas replied.

Juliet was surprised that he had admitted that so quickly after everyone else had told her, he hadn’t been willing to give up his partner.

“Do you have any idea where he could be headed? Or where he would stash the paintings?”

Thomas shook his head. “I don’t know where he would go. He told me that we would discuss that after we were done. I don’t know too much about the guy,” shrugged Thomas.

Juliet jotted down a few more things that he had said as she caught him looking at her from the corner of her eye. For a supposed criminal, his gaze was surprisingly soft and curious, almost like he was studying her.

Just then, an officer came and told Higgins that he was there to take Magnum to holding for the night.

“Can you take me over there?” Magnum asked Juliet. “You asked me so many questions about myself, so it’s only fair that I get to know you a little.”

_ He’s so infuriating, _ thought Juliet.  _ He thinks this whole thing is a game. _

“No,” she replied sternly. “You are not my problem anymore tonight. I will see you tomorrow to conclude your interview and official statement before your arraignment.”

“Oh,” Thomas replied, looking slightly dejected. “I guess I will see you tomorrow then.”

The other officer grabbed one of his cuffed wrists and began to lead him out of the room.

“Goodnight,” he said quietly with a sad smile as he was led away.

Juliet was puzzled. The man seemed genuinely sad to leave her, and she felt slightly guilty about being so short with him when he had given her some useful information. Surely he couldn’t be  _ that  _ naive to think that he could just become friends with the cops that were arresting him?

_ This man is a suspect in an art heist; he doesn’t deserve your sympathy,  _ she told herself.

She was having a hard time getting a read on Thomas Magnum but decided that she would save figuring him out for the following day. Bidding goodnight to Officer Rey and some of her other HPD acquaintances, Juliet headed home.


	2. The Interrogation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is chapter 2! Hope you enjoy!

When Juliet arrived at the department at 9 o’clock the next morning, coffee in tow, she decided that she would not let this art theft case cause her an unnecessary amount of stress. She would finish her interview with Magnum, turn in what she had discovered to Sargeant Masters, and then move on to bigger and better cases.

“Morning, Higgins,” she heard a familiar voice greet her.

“Good morning Gordon, I trust you had a pleasant evening last night? Surely it couldn’t have been worse than mine.”

Katsumoto chuckled. “I heard that Masters called you last minute about that Candler art theft case. I’m so glad I left when I did. I heard the guy they have in custody for that is different, to say the least.”

“His name is Thomas Magnum, and apparently he has zero knowledge of how police investigations work. From what I surmised last night, he is just looking for some levity,” Higgins replied.

“At least he seems cooperative with you. I glanced over the file. Magnum has no record at all. Odd for a case like this.” Katsumoto added.

“Precisely what I thought. I’m due to finish my interview with him this morning. I have a feeling that he’s probably not the mastermind behind this heist either.”

“Let me know how it goes later. Hopefully, they’ll find those paintings soon.”

Juliet raised her eyebrows as she stood from her desk, grabbing her tablet to keep track of things during the interview. 

“Wish me luck.”

When Juliet got to the interrogation room, Magnum was already seated with his hands cuffed to the middle of the table. When he saw her walk in, his face got brighter, and he smiled.

“Good morning, Detective,” he greeted.

“Hello, Mr. Magnum. I presume your stay in holding was pleasant?” Higgins replied sarcastically.

“Well, I wouldn’t call it pleasant. When I got there last night and asked for some food, the officer at the desk laughed at me and told me to shut up. They gave me something this morning, though. It wasn’t delicious, but I guess I can’t expect good food after what I did.” Thomas explained, looking at his feet.

He looked back up at her; “How are you? You looked tired last night. I hope they don’t overwork you too much here.”

Juliet studied Thomas for a moment. Why was he acting like this? What did he think he could gain from being polite? Was this all an act so that he could lessen his punishment?

“I am doing fine, Mr. Magnum. I have some more questions for you about last nights’ operation, though. Are you prepared to give me some truthful answers?”

“Of course,” he smiled.

“Great. Firstly, who hired you to steal those paintings from Mr.Candler’s penthouse?”

Thomas smirked, “How do you know I didn’t plan the heist? Maybe I just wanted some cool art pieces for my own collection!”

Juliet scowled at him for a moment before he burst out laughing.

“Come on! You know I’m joking! I am a little hesitant to talk about this guy, though, because he’s pretty powerful and has a lot of influence in a lot of places, maybe even in HPD.”

“Who is it, Mr. Magnum?” Juliet replied, beginning to lose her patience.

Thomas sighed, “Alright. His name is Ivan, but again, I don’t know his last name. I started working for him about six months ago, just doing some errands to make some quick cash; bringing folders of God knows how much money to different people and places around the island. About two months ago, he started hiring me for more-- sketchy jobs.”

Higgins frowned, “What kinds of jobs?”

“Well, at first, he had me drive some trucks for deliveries… I wasn’t sure what was in them, but I didn’t ask any questions. Then, he talked to me about going to ‘retrieve’ some art pieces for him from the homes of some wealthy people.”

“The heists that the robbery task force has been tracking for months?” questioned Higgins.

“Yes,” Thomas replied. “At first, I refused to help with those. Delivering his ‘goods’ was one thing, but breaking into people’s homes was going way too far for me.”

“So, why did you agree to participate?” Juliet inquired, “How much money did he offer you?”

“Ivan told me that I would get a commission off of the paintings when they were sold. He told me I would get 5%. I laughed at him and told him no way, but that’s when he told me that they were worth millions of dollars. That was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up; I’m pretty broke,” he laughed.

Juliet was puzzled at how Magnum had even met someone like Ivan in the first place. “Where did you meet this man? You have no criminal record; why aren’t you making a living through legal means?”

Thomas shrugged, before answering, “I met him at a nightclub called the King Kamehameha. We just got around to talking, and I told him that I was new to the island. He asked if I needed a job and if I would be willing to become a delivery driver for his company. It wasn’t till later on that I figured out that the things he was involved in were illegal. I had just moved here and needed a job, so when I met a somewhat friendly guy who offered me a position, I just took it. I settled on living in Hawaii because I wanted a more relaxing vibe after leaving the Navy.”

Juliet almost chocked on her coffee, “You were in the navy?!” she exclaimed. “Why would you not attempt to stop him or report him?”

“Well,” sighed Thomas, “I probably shouldn’t have even told you that. I was in a top-secret division of the Navy SEALs. It’s not even on my record that I served in the military at all. That’s how secret our missions were. I guess that’s why I was so good at stealing high-value paintings; I can get in and out of somewhere without being detected.”

Juliet scoffed at that statement, “I guess up until last night? You weren’t so undetected then.”

“That wasn’t my fault! That was all Jin. He was the one who was supposed to hack the air system to bump the heat up so that our heat signatures would be undetected by Candler’s security. I’m so mad that he still escaped and with the paintings no less. Maybe he’ll get the entire payout.” Magnum snarked.

“Have you been paid for the other heists that you’ve done? Any banking information would be most helpful in tracking Ivan and eventually the paintings.”

“No!” Thomas seethed. “That’s another reason why I’m a little upset. I never got any of the commission payments that I was promised for the three heists that I’ve done for him. Maybe he hasn’t sold them yet? He used to pay me in cash for the deliveries that I did, so I never had to deal with his bank.”

Juliet sighed as she slumped back a little in her chair. She was no closer to finding out the whereabouts of the missing art then when she had started the interrogation. Not from Magnum’s lack of cooperation, but more from Ivan keeping his tracks well-covered and his operations under lock and key.

Thomas used the brief moment of silence to gather his thoughts. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help, Detective. I could give you the address where I would meet him to pick up the trucks. I will give you the phone number I have for him as well, but he gives me a new one pretty frequently.”

“It’s most likely a burner,” Juliet replied. “The number and the address would be most helpful, though. At least it’s something.”

She passed him a piece of paper so that he could write the information down with his still cuffed hand.

“So,” Thomas said, still writing some things down, “What’s your name?”

Juliet frowned. “I believe I’ve mentioned my name on numerous occasions.”

“No, no, no, I’m talking about your real name. Your first name,” he replied.

Juliet rolled her eyes.

“I just spilled everything I have on Ivan, and you won’t even tell me your name,” he pouted like a little boy. “And where are you from in England, by the way? I really like your accent,” he told her with a smile.

Higgins sighed, “My name is Juliet, if you must know, and I am from London. Nothing too different.”

“I think you’re very different,” he smiled. “In a good way! Believe it or not, you are the nicest person that I have encountered in this department. And that’s a beautiful name! Isn’t that a character in a princess movie or something?”

Juliet smiled a little, “Juliet is from a famous Shakespeare play. I’m sure you’ve heard of it.”

She was surprised that he thought she had been kind to him. She didn’t feel that she had treated him any differently than any other suspect she had encountered.

_ He is more handsome than any other suspect that you have encountered,  _ her mind told her. Shoving the thought away, she gathered her papers and tablet together and was preparing to stand when his voice stopped her.

“Wait! Where are you going? Can we maybe talk for a few more minutes? You seem so interesting, and I won’t have anyone to talk to until my friends bail me out after my arraignment later.”

Juliet raised her eyebrows, “You do know that the purpose of an interrogation is not to become best friends with the detective on your case Magnum? I do have a job to do, something you know nothing about.”

He held his hands up in defense, “Hey, I’m trying, ok? I just got caught up in something I shouldn’t have. Before he hired me, I had applied at tons of places, but because of the huge gap in my work history because of my eight secret years in the Navy, people weren’t exactly jumping to give me a chance.”

Juliet sighed. She actually believed him. There had been many times during an interrogation where she hadn’t believed a single word out of a suspect’s mouth, but something inside of her was telling her that Thomas Magnum was telling her the truth.

“I know you are very busy and have cases to solve, but I was hoping that after I am cleared from this mess and my friends bail me out that maybe we could be friends?” he smiled hopefully. “I think you would be a great influence on me, help keep me out of trouble, maybe give me some advice on how to find a real job. I don’t have many people that I know on this island anyway. Just my buddies Rick and TC. They served with me, and we’re all so close that we decided to move to Hawaii together for a fresh start. Everyone could use some more friends, right? I promise you that I’m not a bad person. You could even rant to me about all of your cases and the crazy people you have to deal with! Would you be willing to give me a chance? I’d really like to get to know you.”

Juliet looked at him, slightly shocked. This was certainly something she’d never expected to happen.

Thomas could see that she was a bit taken aback by his proposition. “I’ll tell you what Juliet; by tomorrow afternoon, my friends will have bailed me out. I’m going to go to Kamekona’s Shrimp Truck up on the North Shore for my first meal as a free man. They have some great food! I’ll be there about… 7 o’clock? If you want to chat some more, feel free to join me. If not, just don’t come. There’s no pressure at all,” he reassured her.

“How do you know that your friends will bail you out by-”

“Oh, they will. Trust me. We’ve been brothers for years. I know they’ll try to get me out as quickly as they can.”

At that exact moment, an officer entered the room to inform Higgins that the judge was moving faster than usual and that Magnum’s arraignment had been moved up to an hour from then.

He uncuffed Magnum from the table and began to lead him out of the room.

Thomas offered her a small smile as he was led away and gave her a little wave as best as he could with his hands still cuffed together.

Then he was gone, and Juliet was left to ponder his somewhat strange, yet sweet request.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think!!


	3. Distractions

The next day as Juliet was flipping through some files about a missing person’s case, she couldn’t help but zone out and think of a particular charming suspect from the day before.

Thomas Magnum had plagued her thoughts ever since he made that offer for her to join him for a friendly meal after his release. 

_ How could he possibly be so confident that his friends would bail him out by this afternoon? Or that the judge would even set a bail for him?  _ She mused in her head.

When she decided that concentrating on any other task would be hopeless until she satisfied her curiosity, she turned to Katsumoto.

“Gordon, did you ever hear anything about what happened during that art case arraignment yesterday? The one for Thomas Magnum?”

“No, I hadn’t heard anything about that. Let me check the system to see if they’ve updated his status,” replied Katsumoto.

After a minute of typing, he found some answers.

“Hmm… the case is pending while they look for the other suspect and the stolen paintings, but the judge set bail for Magnum. Actually, it was posted an hour ago by two guys - Orville Wright and Theodore Calvin.”

Higgins was slightly surprised.  _ Everything worked out just as he said it would,  _ she thought to herself.  _ He really must have some trustworthy friends. _

“Oh,” she replied after a moment of thinking, “Interesting. Thanks for looking into it, Gordon.”

Katsumoto gave her an amused look, “Are you ok, Higgins? Ever since you got back from interrogating Magnum yesterday, you’ve seemed kind of out of it. Did he creep you out or something? I’ve never seen you so distracted.”

“No, nothing like that,” Juliet replied, “Something about him is just different. I don’t think that he is a bad man or someone trying to cause a lot of trouble; he just got caught up in a tricky situation. I just asked about the case because I was hoping that the judge wouldn’t punish him too harshly.”

Katsumoto chuckled at her, “Looks like someone has a little crush.”

“Absolutely not!” Higgins exclaimed, “If anything, I thought he was a nuisance. The man was asking about where I am from and if I would talk to him longer because sitting in the holding cell was too ‘boring’ for him.”

“I think he’s sweet on you as well,” Gordon laughed, “Just try not to talk about him and his case too much. The last thing you want is that kind of a rumor spreading around the precinct.”

“I don’t like him! Not in that way anyhow. He just needs a stable job and apparently some more friends, and I don’t think he’ll ever have another run-in with the law again.”

Gordon smiled, “This softer side looks good on you, Higgins. All I have to say is that you should wait until this art theft case is closed before you get more involved with him. Things could get messy with the bosses if they find out you’re either dating or helping him before this case is even closed.”

“For the last time, I’m not-- you know what forget it,” she sighed defeatedly before turning back to the case files and attempting to push Thomas Magnum and his dinner request from her mind.

* * *

Though Juliet had given it her best effort, she couldn’t stop her conversation with Magnum from the day before from playing on a loop in her mind. There was something about the man that just drew her to him.

Despite countless internal lectures to herself about how she didn’t need someone like Magnum in her life to make it more complicated, something was telling her that his presence would actually relieve some of her stress.

Since she had moved to Hawaii two years prior, she had to admit that her social life had been sorely lacking. The only ‘friends’ that she had to speak of were work acquaintances at best, and she certainly wasn’t close enough with any of them to go out and socialize on the weekends, let alone confide in them about any problems she may have. Gordon had been polite and invited her to tag along to a few department outings that his own friends had invited him to, but she had declined his offers out of the fear of seeming shy and socially awkward, even though that’s precisely what she was.

In England, her social circle had been small as well. Her parents were dead and, she had no other real family. Even at times during her career with MI6, she had no one to talk to. Richard had been her saving grace there, being one of the only people during her entire life to understand her for who she was. But life had been cruel and taken him from her, resulting in a dangerous revenge mission, her dismissal from Her Majesty’s top intelligence agency, and ultimately her relocation to Hawaii in an effort to get as far away from England as possible and start anew.

_ It would just be a friendly dinner,  _ she told herself.  _ What could I have to lose? _

_ You could create a mess at work!  _ Another voice inside yelled.  _ What would Masters and everyone else think of you spending time with the suspect in an ongoing investigation? What if he doesn't even show up?! He could have lied about the whole thing! _

This internal conflict had nagged at her for the remainder of the afternoon, resulting in her making little progress on the case she had been analyzing.

When the clock hit 5 PM, and Gordon bid her a good evening, Juliet had made a decision; she was going to that shrimp place to meet Thomas.

She was tired of being lonely, tired of returning to an empty little house at the end of a long day with no friends to talk to, and no family to call. If she was going to make a change in her life, she needed to start somewhere, and this was going to be it; risks be damned.

Taking a deep breath, Juliet vowed to be out of the precinct by 6 o’clock, so that she could meet Magnum up on the North Shore by seven. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is where they'll finally meet up for dinner...  
> I'm thinking that it will probably be up sometime this weekend!  
> As always, let me know what you thought of this chapter!


	4. The Dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy this new chapter! I'm not too sure when the next update will be because college has started again and although it's online I've still been insanely busy... Let me know in the comments how you feel about this chapter and where the story is going!

After the GPS directions landed her at Kamekona’s, Juliet had found herself frozen in her car seat.

_ What am I doing?  _ She scolded herself.  _ This could be a complete disaster. _

Higgins could only see part of the shrimp truck from where she was parked, so it was hard to tell if Magnum was even there or not. Steeling her nerves, she plucked up the courage to get out of her black car and walk towards the truck and surrounding picnic tables.

She had taken about ten steps before she spotted him sitting at a table with what appeared to be an assortment of shrimp.

Thomas had been checking his phone, but when he looked up and saw her, the brightest smile appeared across his face. He immediately waved to her and beckoned her over.

“Hi Juliet!” he called over from the table.

Higgins’ nerves flared up in full force as she approached him, finally reaching the table and saying nothing as she just sort of looked at him.

“Are you alright?” Thomas laughed. “I hope you’re not nervous. There’s really no reason to be. I’m so happy that you decided to come.”

“Yes-- yes, I am fine,” she stuttered. “Just a little surprised with myself, I suppose.”

Thomas grinned, “Well, I’m not surprised that you’re here. I can be very charming.”

Just as Juliet was about to make a retort about how self-absorbed he was, Magnum continued, “Please, have a seat! I ordered a little bit of everything because I wasn’t too sure what you liked. We have some spicy garlic, coconut lime, teriyaki, and crispy sweet chili. Trust me; they are the best tasting shrimp on the island.”

Slowly, Juliet took a seat and laid a napkin across her lap.

“Thank you for the impressive spread, Mr. Magnum, I would like to cover a share of the food myself.”

Thomas waved that off, “First off, please call me Thomas, hearing Mr. Magnum all the time just sounds weird. Friends don’t call each other Mr. And Ms.! And secondly, don’t worry about the food! Kamekona and I are buddies. I told him that I was meeting a new friend here tonight and that she had never tried his famous shrimp. This was all on the house!”

Juliet gave him a little smile, “That’s very kind of him. Will you relay my thanks to him please?”

“For sure,” Thomas replied, beginning to dig into the shrimp. “How was work today? I hope you didn’t have to chase down anyone too crazy.”

Juliet laughed a little, “No, no; a lot of my job is just desk work and filling out reports. Police work is not as glamorous as films and television would have people believe.”

“Oh, I would agree with that,” Magnum replied. “Neither is the Navy, especially when most people in the military aren’t even aware of your missions.”

“I must admit, one of the main reasons I agreed to meet you here was because I’m quite curious about your military background. I’d like to know more about what you did with them.”

Thomas smiled, pleased that Juliet appeared to have some interest in getting to know him. “All in good time, Higgy! Let’s just say that my crew and I took down some pretty bad people and stopped them from potentially killing millions.”

Juliet’s face scrunched up at his use of that nickname again, but she didn’t comment on it, choosing to try some of the coconut lime shrimp instead.

“There’s one question I’ve been dying to ask you, though,” said Thomas.

“What’s that?”

“How did you end up in Hawaii? You’re the only British person I’ve met since I moved here. There’s got to be a reason as to why you’re so far from home.”

Juliet froze a little as she ate, but figured that she should at least give him part of the story.

“That’s a complex question with a long story, but the main takeaway is that I came to Hawaii for a fresh start after leaving my job with MI6. I wanted to get as far away from England as I could when I first left, and I thought a tropical paradise would be a nice place to start over.”

Thomas looked impressed, “Wow! I can totally believe that you were a spy though. You have a mysterious aura. What an interesting job that must’ve been! I’m sure you’ve been on your share of dangerous missions as well.”

“I have,” she agreed. “Some dangerous, some tedious, but it was an amazing career while it lasted. I’m extremely grateful that I got to travel to some places in the world that I would have never gone to otherwise.”

“That’s awesome. While military and intelligence jobs do have their downsides, travel to some fascinating places can be a perk. Although, sometimes those places can be pretty scary. I spent the last three years of my final deployment in Afghanistan. My friends Rick, TC, Nuzo, and I were all POWs for about 18 months after the Taliban kidnapped us.”

“Oh my God!” she exclaimed. “That must've been absolutely horrible! I can’t even imagine what that was like for you. How did you get out?”

Thinking twice about that question, Juliet caught herself.

“I’m sorry, that was awfully forward of me. You don’t have to talk about that if it makes you uncomfortable. This must be a very touchy subject for you.”

“No, no, it’s ok,” he assured her. “I wouldn’t have brought it up if I didn’t want to let you know. Everyone who knows me well knows about my time there to some extent, and now that we’re friends, I figured I should tell you about this upfront since it had such a big impact on my life. Especially since I still have some PTSD from it.”

Juliet’s heart swelled for him. She could have never guessed that Thomas had been through such an awful experience, and the fact that he had been willing to share this with her so soon after meeting her made her care for him even more.

A small part of Juliet’s mind was pressing her to question the validity of what he was telling her, but she quickly pushed those thoughts away. From the moment she met Magnum, she had felt that he was being genuine with her. He had done nothing to make her believe otherwise.

“My friends and I escaped,” he told her. “There wasn’t that much planning involved in it either. We saw an opportunity to escape, and we took it.”

“Wow,” Juliet replied. “I’m so incredibly sorry that you had to endure one of those camps. I’ve heard about POW camps in that region; horrible things. It’s amazing that you survived after that long.”

“There’s no way I would’ve made it out of there if it wasn’t for those guys. That’s why we are all so close now. We’ll be brothers forever because of everything we’ve been through together. Unfortunately, Nuzo was in a huge car accident shortly after we moved here. Losing him was extremely hard on Rick, TC, and I.”

Juliet felt horrible for him. She felt as if all of the things Thomas had been through in the last five years alone were enough to make her hardships look like speed bumps by comparison.

“Thomas— I- I don’t know what to say. I’m so, so, sorry for everything that you’ve been through. But, I am glad that you lived through it all and are trying to turn your life around,” Higgins sighed. 

“I’m also glad that we met, despite the circumstances, and that I overcame my nerves to meet you here tonight,” she added, smiling slightly at her feet.

Thomas gave her a small smile of his own, “You haven’t really had any friends before, have you?”

Juliet’s head snapped up, and a protest was about to fly out of her mouth before Thomas quickly re-evaluated what he was trying to say.

“I didn’t mean to offend you when I said that! And I could be totally wrong too. You just seem like you haven’t had a lot of people in your life that you could trust; which is why you’re so nervous to get to know me.”

Juliet let out a deep breath. “You’re not wrong,” she told him. “I haven’t had many friends throughout my life. And I could probably count the number of people I’ve been able to confide in on one hand. But, I am hoping to change that. And tonight is kind of that first step for me. I am tired of not having friends and people that I can talk to. That’s why I am nervous; I don’t want to share things about myself only to be laughed at or ignored later on. Unfortunately, a good number of people that I thought were my friends at one point have done that to me.”

Thomas locked eyes with her, “That’s incredibly brave of you, Juliet. And just for the record, I think you are doing a pretty great job. Those people who treated you badly in the past were idiots. They couldn’t see what a wonderful person you are,” he smiled.

Juliet blushed a little, “Thank you, Thomas. That’s very kind.”

“Well,” he laughed, “This conversation has certainly gotten pretty heavy for the first time that we've ever had a meal together.”

“I suppose it has,” Higgins agreed, ready for their conversation to head in a lighter direction. “So, where are those famous friends of yours who paid your bail? I would’ve thought you would be out celebrating with them!”

Thomas laughed and shook his head, “Just because we’re best friends, it doesn’t mean that they weren’t furious with me over the fact that I got arrested for an art heist. I have a lot of explaining to do and even more stress coming up with these pending charges.”

“Well, hopefully, the DA will want to make a deal with you for the information that you have on Ivan and your knowledge of his operations. Usually, in situations like this, they’ll want to go after the biggest fish they can, and they could use you to do it.” Juliet encouraged.

Thomas looked at his feet, “You know that I don’t have much on this guy, Higgy. I’ll definitely give them what I can, but who knows if they’ll think it will be enough.”

He let out a big sigh before pivoting back to a happier topic, “Anyways, are you enjoying the shrimp? I told you it’s the best in Hawaii!”

Just as Juliet was about to answer him, she saw someone out of the corner of her eye that made her freeze mid-sentence.

Strolling up to Kamekona’s shrimp truck was none other than Officer Tani Rey from the robbery task force. And if that wasn’t bad enough, her partner, Officer Reigns, was also tagging along.

Fear coursed through Higgins. She knew that being recognized by a colleague she had just met a few days prior while investigating a case that her dinner-mate was directly involved in would be a recipe for disaster.

“Shit,” she whispered.

Magnum looked puzzled, “What's going on, Juliet? Is everything ok?”

“We need to get out of here right now,” she hissed.

“But we haven’t even finished our shrimp yet! If something’s wrong, please tell me. I really didn’t mean to offend you with that friends comment earlier I—”

“It’s not that!” She whispered fiercely, “Some of the officers who helped arrest you at Candler’s penthouse are heading towards the truck! Use your imagination as to why it would be a bad idea for us to be seen together right now!”

Thankfully, Tani and her partner hadn’t seemed to have spotted them yet as they had been far too busy talking and laughing with each other.

“Ohhhh,” said Thomas, catching on. “How are we supposed to get up without them seeing us? Wait, I’ve got an idea. You leave the table first and walk down to that bench further down the beach over there. I’ll get up a couple of minutes later and meet you down there. There’s no way they’ll be able to recognize us from that far away.”

Since there was no time to think of anything else, Juliet quickly nodded and stood up from the table, making sure to walk towards the bench while doing her best to stay concealed behind some palm trees.

When she made it to the bench, she glanced back towards the truck. It was a little hard to see from the angle of where she was seated, but she supposed that was a good thing. Thomas was still sitting at the table, his back facing the pair of partners who were in line for food, still engrossed in a conversation.

A minute later, she spotted Thomas making his way towards her.

“You brought the shrimp?” She asked, seeing him with the food boxes in tow.

“Of course I did! We’re not wasting this stuff! I think we’re in the clear from your cop friends. They’re paying way more attention to each other than anything else right now,” Magnum laughed.

“Yes, that appears to be our saving grace.” Higgins sighed in relief. 

They finished their food in comfortable silence for a few minutes. When they were done, Juliet spoke up.

“Look, Thomas, something like what happened earlier was one of the many reasons why I was hesitant to meet you here. I could get in real trouble with my superiors if I appear to be helping you. I-I- just think it would be best for the both of us if we went our separate ways. You seem like a good man and I believe you would be a loyal friend but… I think the risks may be too high.”

Thomas looked like a kicked puppy. “Hey, hey wait! I know almost running into them wasn’t ideal, but there is a way that we can still be friends! I really enjoyed tonight and I’d like to keep getting to know you. Here, how about I give you my number, and when this case is all over and done with you can give me a call. That way, you won’t get jammed up at work. They can’t punish you for speaking with me after the case has been closed right?”

“No, they cannot,” she replied quietly. Higgins looked at Thomas, his eyes were pleading with her to give him a chance.

“I mean, if you don’t want to be friends I won’t hold it against you and of course we don’t have to talk anymore, but if you are still open to it, I’d really like to become friends.”

“You have to understand Thomas; this case could drag on for months. And if they don’t find the stolen art it could drag on even longer.”

“I will wait,” he said earnestly, “You are worth it.”

Thomas gave her a small smile, then waited for her response.

“Ok,” she sighed, “Ok, you may give me your number, but know that I will only contact you after I know for a fact I will be in the clear to do so.”

“That’s fine. I understand,” he said, taking her phone and adding his number with his name along with a little smiley face emoji.

Juliet chuckled when she saw that. “Ok then. Well, I guess I will talk to you… hopefully soon,” she told him.

“I’m looking forward to it. And just know that I’m willing to do what I can to help HPD solve this case and catch Ivan. We both know he’s involved in some much more dangerous projects than art thefts.”

Juliet smiled, “I’m glad to hear that. In the meantime, start looking for a job. A  _ legal  _ one that won’t get you arrested!”

“Yes ma’am,” Thomas assured her. “The next time you talk with me I promise I’ll have something going. And that it will be stable.”

Juliet stood up from the bench and outstretched a hand for him to shake.

Magnum stood up as well and took her hand. “Thank you again for meeting me here, Juliet. I had a fantastic evening with you.”

Then, he flashed her that charming smile that made butterflies flutter around in her stomach. His hand felt so wonderful holding hers; something about it just felt right.

She gave him a smile of her own before pulling her hand away, realizing that their ‘handshake’ had lasted a bit too long for normal standards.

“Bye for now, Thomas,” she said, giving him a little wave that he returned. Then, her feet were carrying her back towards her car, and Juliet felt like a giddy teenager for the first time in years.


	5. Jin's News

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I found some time this weekend in between assignments to crank this out.. I hope it's ok. Please let me know what you think!

About three weeks had passed since Higgins had last spoken with Thomas and seen him at the shrimp truck. Since then, she had worked as hard as she could to help the robbery task force find those missing paintings, catch Ivan, and find Jin; the man who had left Thomas in Candler’s penthouse and took off with the paintings.

So far, Higgins and the task force had accomplished two of those things: they had found the missing paintings and Jin, who as it turned out had not received any sort of payment for his work in the heists from Ivan either and had been living on the street.

First, Officer Rey had contacted her to let her know that the task force had a lead on Jin because a man matching the description that Magnum had given them had been frequenting homeless camps on some deserted Honolulu beaches. To no one’s surprise, Jin had an extensive criminal record, which for the most part included pickpocketing and theft. He had never been convicted of anything violent, and when Higgins talked with him he cracked faster than an egg. Rather than a hardcore criminal, Jin gave the impression that he was more into stealing things for the simple fact that it usually got him some fast cash that he would then blow on booze and ridiculously lavish accessories; not Ivan’s art heists had given him any cash.

“The guy totally cheated me!” Jin had told Higgins, “I was promised a 5% cut of whatever the paintings were sold for, and he told me they would sell for millions. These heists would’ve been my all-time biggest scores if he had paid up like he promised. I only left that Magnum guy behind because I thought I would end up with a bigger payday if Ivan thought I had stolen everything myself.”

Because he was so angry with not receiving his payment, Jin had been fairly quick to give up where Ivan had told him to stash the paintings; a small warehouse in Waimanalo. That same afternoon, Officers Rey, Reigns, and the rest of the robbery task force had raided the premises and, by some freakish miracle, found all of the art that had been stolen over the past few months from the homes of some of Honolulu’s elite. The fact that all of the stolen art was still in the same place months after it had been taken was strange enough. Tani had told her that in typical circumstances that art would have been sold within a week of being taken, and would have probably not have even been in Hawaii anymore.

Jin had also told HPD that he had communicated with Ivan the same way as Magnum did; through a burner number. This left them with no real leads on where Ivan could be, or what his next moves were, as well as if he was even still on the island at all.

This is what had frustrated Juliet the most. The only thing standing between this case finally being closed was Ivan, and they had no clue how they were going to find him.

* * *

One Thursday night, Juliet sat on her back patio with a fascinating book that she had found at the library,  _ The White Knight: Queen’s Gambit. _

Along with trying to track down Ivan, Higgins had also been busy working on two separate murder cases, and everything together was taking its toll on her. 

Her lack of friends withstanding, she was incredibly happy to be invested in a good book to give herself a break from work.

Her thoughts shifted briefly to Magnum, and what he had been up to in the past month. She wondered if he had taken her advice and found himself a decent job. He had kept true to his promise to not contact her until the case was over, and the thought that he may have forgotten about her briefly crossed her mind. She had admitted to herself after their dinner that she had a small crush on him, but she was convinced it was only because he was the first person in a few years who had given her any sort of personal attention.

_ That’s pretty sad…  _ she thought to herself.  _ It took you getting assigned to a case for you to finally meet someone who wants to know more about you. _

She supposed some of it was her fault though. It’s not like she had put any real effort into getting involved in the community outside of her job, or even gone to any of the local festivals since she had moved to the island.

Vowing to herself that she would try and get out more after work slowed down a little, she picked up her book and immersed herself in the pages once more.

* * *

The next morning at HPD had seemed surprisingly slow to Juliet, which usually meant that things were about to get crazy. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened. 

At around 11 o’clock, a man burst into the precinct in a frenzy, telling the desk Sargeant that he needed to talk to Detective Higgins immediately.

When she overheard the commotion, she glanced up and recognized that the man making such a fuss was Jin.

“Let him through!” She called up to the Sargeant.

Upon seeing her, Jin immediately dashed back to her desk.

Katsumoto raised his eyebrows, “Is this that crazy guy from the art case that had Gucci necklaces in his bag when they brought him in?”

Higgins sighed, “Sadly, yes.”

Although, now that she thought about it, Jin’s frantic presence could mean he had something that would help them solve this case.

“Hey! Guess what!! You’ll never believe who just called me this morning!” Jin panted, clearly out of breath from his sprint to her desk.

“Oh I don’t know,” Higgins replied sarcastically, “The pope? Please tell me you came down here because you have something useful to share.”

“Trust me Higgins, you’re gonna love this! Ivan called me this morning about finally paying me for all of the stuff I've stolen for him! He said he knew I had been arrested and was out on bail, but he would pay for my lawyer and legal fees in the upcoming trial if I did one last favor for him.”

Higgins frowned, “Did he say anything about all of the paintings that we recovered from the warehouse in Waimanalo? Or how he would be paying you?”

“No…” Jin replied, “He just told me that I need to meet him at this address tomorrow night at 10. Here, I wrote it down!”

Jin dug the scrap of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Higgins.

“You are being set up,” she told him as she glanced over the paper with the address. “Ivan is not a stupid man. If he knows you’ve been arrested and you’re out on bail, he probably knows that you gave up the location of his warehouse. And if he didn’t chew you out on the phone over HPD finding all of the paintings, he knows they’ve been taken.”

“But-but how do you know that? What if he just wants to pay me?” Jin protested.

Juliet gave him a stern glare, “I would bet my badge that by showing up to this address alone tomorrow, you will have signed your own death certificate.”

Jin looked gobsmacked at her statement, but Higgins continued on, “But, this also happens to be a perfect opportunity to finally catch Ivan and close this case. So, if you want the DA to reduce your pending charges, you’re going to show up there with a wire and body cam and allow us to catch him.”

“But you just said they would kill me if I went! There’s no way! I’m not being your bait for this! Get that Magnum guy to do it instead!”

Juliet’s pulse skyrocketed at the thought of Magnum walking into such a dangerous situation.

“Magnum had no knowledge of the location of the warehouse since he wasn’t the one who dropped the paintings off there. And since he hasn’t come bursting in here, I think it’s safe to say that Ivan hasn’t contacted him.”

Before Jin could protest again, Higgins swiftly cut him off, “And, more importantly, you are facing up to 20 years in prison for your role in these thefts. If I were you, I would be jumping at the opportunity to lessen the charges.”

Upon hearing that, Jin suddenly got very quiet.

“I’d take the offer, buddy,” Katsumoto chimed in.

Jin let out a loud,dramatic sigh, “Uggg. I guess if i’m so important to this mission i’ll tag along. Think of this as my heroic duty to Hawaii!” he added with excitement.

* * *

When Juliet returned home later that evening, she was completely drained. The rest of her afternoon at HPD consisted of calling Officer Rey from the robbery task force to inform her of Jin’s news, and then holding a meeting with Jin and the entire task force of how the operation would play out the following evening.

Since Jin’s comment about Magnum, she couldn’t help but think if Ivan had reached out to him in some way. Surely he would’ve come into the precinct and told her, right?

But then she thought back to their conversation a month earlier at the shrimp truck where she had explicitly told him to not contact her until after the case was closed. Could it be that he was afraid that coming in to give her information about Ivan would make her upset?

_ You’re being stupid  _ she told herself,  _ he would’ve said something about that. He wants this case closed just as much as you do.  _

But her thoughts were getting the better of her, and before she knew it she was looking at his contact in her phone with the little smiley face next to his name and was on the verge of calling him just to be sure that he hadn’t heard from Ivan. She pressed ‘call’.

Magnum picked up on the third ring, “Hello?” he questioned.

“Thomas? It’s Juliet, Juliet Higgins from HPD. I--”

“Hi Higgy!!” he exclaimed, “It’s so great to finally hear from you! I was hoping you hadn’t forgotten about me! But, I thought you weren’t going to call me until after the case was over? My charges are still pending and I still have to go to court.”

“I know that the case is still open but that’s actually why i’m calling you. Have you heard from Ivan recently?”

Juliet heard a slight pause on the line before Thomas answered her, “No, I haven’t. Why?”

“Please don’t lie, Thomas. If you have I really need to know.”

“I wouldn’t lie to you, Juliet,” he said quickly. “You know that. If I had learned anything new I would’ve come down to HPD and told you or the task force. But I haven't learned anything new and I haven't heard from him since before the last theft.”

Juliet sighed, “Ok. I just needed to know. This case has the potential to be wrapping up soon.”

“What do you mean?” said Thomas, “Have you caught him? Do you know where he is?”

“I can’t go into specifics, Magnum, but I will tell you that I will be submitting paperwork to the DA soon detailing you and your accomplice’s cooperation. I probably shouldn’t even be telling you that. I need to go. I will call you after your court date and the case is closed.”

“Oh, ok.” Thomas replied disappointedly, “I understand. Thanks for reaching out. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Goodnight, Thomas.”

“Goodnight, Higgy. Please be safe out there.”

Juliet hung up and held her phone in her hands, exhaling deeply.

At least she had peace of mind knowing that Ivan hadn’t contacted Magnum, and she believed him when he told her that he wouldn't lie to her. 

_ We will catch him tomorrow, end of story,  _ She told herself before turning out the lights and going to bed.


	6. Case Closed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I promise that the case is going to be wrapped up in this chapter. I'm thinking that this fic is going to around 10 chapters total. That's what I'm aiming for right now. I hope you enjoy!

Around 9 o’clock the following evening, Juliet was standing in the back lot of the precinct with Tani, Junior, and a few other members of the robbery task force who were accompanying them on their mission to catch Ivan.

She had to admit to herself that she was a little nervous, despite having been on many operations like this in her career. Perhaps it was because she had convinced herself that they would catch Ivan for sure and that with any luck, she’d be calling a certain new friend soon.

“I’m so ready to catch this guy.” Tani huffed. “He’s been escaping us for months. I just hope that dough boy over there won’t blow it for us.”

“Hey!” shouted Jin from the next van over where he was currently being fitted with a wire and body camera, “I’m a valuable asset to this team! Without me you wouldn’t even know where he was gonna be tonight!”

Junior chuckled, “I guess he has a point there.”

“Do we have everything that we’re going to need for tonight?” Juliet inquired, “Guns, ammunition, the bluetooth earpieces so we can listen to what’s going on?”

“Relax, Higgins,” Tani replied, “Our team has made sure that everything’s in place. The only wild card in this operation is our new friend, Jin.”

“I’m going to slay this operation.” Jin said confidently, “When it’s over, not only will the judge cut me a break, but HPD will want to hire me as an agent for sting operations!”

The whole group rolled their eyes at that statement, and proceeded to load the remainder of their gear into the police vans and headed off to Jin’s meeting with Ivan.

* * *

“Heyyyy! Ivan! Long time no see buddy!”

Juliet, Tani, and Junior were in one van listening to Jin through the Bluetooth and watching what was unfolding on Junior’s laptop screen while the rest of the task force was in the other van, ready to strike at the perfect moment.

As Jin was attempting to make some lighthearted conversation with Ivan and a few of his armed associates, Juliet was watching how Jin was becoming surrounded by scary-looking men with guns.

“I don’t like this,” Higgins whispered, “He’s a sitting duck!”

“Give him a minute,” replied Junior.

Before Tani could chime in, they heard Ivan speak through their audio.

“I know you’d like your money, Jin, but where are my paintings? A few of my other associates checked on our warehouse earlier this week and found nothing there. Don’t tell me you’ve gone and sold them on your own; or worse, informed the police of their location when they arrested you.”

The officers watched as Jin faltered a little and tried to play dumb, “What? You think I sold them? That’s crazy! I wouldn’t have the manpower to move all of those by myself!”

“Did Magnum help you? Although, he seems like too much of a goody-two-shoes to go behind my back and make a deal. You on the other hand--”

“No! No! I haven’t heard from Magnum in weeks! Not since we were at Candler’s penthouse! I swear I have no idea where the paintings are!”

“I don’t think I believe you, Jin. I think your sorry ass sold me out to HPD in order to get yourself a deal. And in that case, I think we have a loose end to tie up.”

“Now guys, come on! I just came here because you promised me my share! I had no clue that the paintings were gone. I left them right where you told me to!”

Ivan still didn’t seem to be buying it, and he nodded at one of his armed men who clicked the safety off on his gun.

“We need to move! Now!” Tani shouted into her radio, causing the tactical team to sprint out of the other van and down towards the hanger, guns drawn.

Juliet grabbed her own weapon, and she, Tani, and Junior also descended upon the meeting.

When they got there, the tactical team had neutralized most of Ivan’s men and had the others in handcuffs. Ivan himself was cuffed and being led out of the building by 2 of the tactical officers.

“Where’s Jin?” Higgins asked.

“I found him!” called Junior over by a large crate. Jin was hiding behind it in the fetal position, shaking like a leaf.

“Come on, up you get,” said Higgins, grabbing his arm.

“So Jin,” added Tani, “You still want that position as a sting agent?”

“Hell no! Not on your life!”

The group laughed a little and all headed back towards the vans.

* * *

The next few days had been a blur of paperwork, phone calls, and finalizing the case. Higgins had spoken to the DA on the case about the cooperation of both Jin and Magnum. The judge lowered Jin’s charge down to misdemeanor theft and sentenced him to a year of parole. Juliet thought it was astonishing that he had avoided jail time given his prior record.

As for Magnum, the judge had seen that he had no prior criminal history, and since Juliet had told him about Magnum’s secret military service, the judge had only given him 50 hours of community service. Juliet was elated. She had never seen such a lenient judge in her career, but she supposed if anyone deserved a smaller punishment it was Magnum.

The fact that Ivan and his top associates had been caught had probably been a plus, given that they were the main targets in the first place and they were getting extremely long sentences.

“You know what, Higgins?” said Katsumoto, bringing her out of her fog, “I think you should take some time off. You deserve it, especially after this case, and you haven’t used a single vacation day since you’ve been with HPD.”

Juliet thought of his suggestion. For the first time in probably her whole life, she was on board with taking a break. 

Juliet looked up from a file and smiled, “Gordan, I think I just might.”

* * *

Later, as Juliet relaxed in the bath with a glass of wine, she contemplated what she would do with her two weeks of vacation that Sargeant Masters had been happy to grant her.

_ You will go out, you will meet people, you will get involved…  _ she told herself.  _ Maybe meet someone special… _

As soon as that thought crossed her mind, she immediately thought of Magnum. She could call him now after all. Butterflies swirled in her stomach at the thought of seeing him again after so long, although she felt as though she would be starting from scratch in terms of her confidence levels.

_ You’ve got this. He wants to spend time with you. _

Taking a long sip of wine, Juliet called him up.

This time, Thomas knew exactly who was calling him.

“Hi, Higgy! How has your week been? Hopefully as great as mine!”

“It’s been decent, Thomas. I presume you’re happy about your sentence?”

“Happy doesn’t even cover it,” he replied, “My record is staying clean and I got off pretty easy. I couldn’t ask for anything more, and it’s all thanks to you.”

“Well, I saw a good man who just made a poor choice. I believe in second chances. I know that you have a more promising future than sitting in a jail cell.”

“You’re amazing, Juliet. Really. I can’t thank you enough for being so kind and putting in a good word for me.”

Juliet smiled into the phone, “You’re quite welcome.”

“So,” he continued, “My friend TC told me about this great Luau festival that’s happening on Waikiki Beach this weekend. I know it’s a little short notice since it starts tomorrow, but I was hoping you’d want to come along with us? They will have music, traditional dancing, and some great food. Are you in?”

“Wh-who else is going?” she asked nervously, “I don’t want to inconvenience your friends.”

“Relax Higgy, it’s just Rick and TC, my military buddies I’ve been telling you about. I’ve told them about you as well and they’d like to meet you. Plus, I can tell you about my awesome new job! Trust me, it’ll be a great time.”

_ You are going to make some friends and experience some local culture  _ she told herself.  _ This is a 2 for 1… _

“Ok, I will come along. What time should I meet you all tomorrow?”

“How about 5? That way we can get some good seats and food before the big lineups.”

“Perfect,” Juliet replied, “I will see you gents then.”

“Have a great rest of your night, Higgy. I’m excited to see you.”

“As am I, Thomas,” she said, failing to contain the smile that broke out across her face. “Goodnight.”

After she hung up, that giddy schoolgirl feeling was back again. Maybe there could be something there with Thomas, and apparently he had found a job that he seemed excited to tell her about so that was a plus.

As Juliet tucked herself into bed that night, she couldn’t help but feel excited about the possibilities that the next day could bring.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is probably my favorite so far! It should be up sometime next week!


	7. New Feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably my favorite chapter that I have written so far. Things are finally starting to happen with Thomas and Higgy, and I hope you like how this chapter goes!

Waikiki Beach was a bustling hub of activity as Juliet wormed her way through the festival crowds. Thomas had texted her that he and his friends had secured a table near an outdoor bar under some palm trees.

“Higgy, over here!” she heard someone shout over to her left.

She spotted Thomas and two other men who must be Rick and TC waving to her as she made her way to their table. The butterflies in her stomach were swarming in full force. 

“I’m so happy to see you, Juliet! And I'm really glad you could join us for this festival. We’ve all heard that it’s one of the best things in Waikiki all year.” said Thomas with the biggest smile on his face. He looked like he wanted to give her a hug, but Juliet figured he wasn’t going to because he thought it would spook her. Truth be told, she kind of wished he had given her one since she was still feeling too nervous to give him one herself. 

“It’s great to see you as well, Thomas, as well as to meet your infamous friends,” Juliet replied.

“Higgy, these are my best friends, Rick Wright and TC Calvin. We’ve been through pretty much everything together as you’ve heard.”

“Pleased to meet you both,” Higgins told them, shaking each of their hands with a smile.

“Great to meet you, Higgy,” TC said with a laugh. “Is it ok if Rick and I call you ‘Higgy’ too? Or is that just Thomas’ special name for you?”

Juliet blushed a little. “You may call me Higgy if you wish. I wasn’t too fond of that nickname in the beginning but it's grown on me a little.”

“Thomas has told us what a great detective you are,” Rick added, “He told us that you’re the reason why he got such a lenient sentence. You’re awesome for helping him out with that.”

Juliet waved that off with a laugh, “Well you gents certainly helped him as well! Someone had to pay his hefty bail!”

TC and Rick exchanged a look and then glared at Thomas a little.

“She’s right, bro. When are you going to pay us back for that? You promised that you would a couple weeks ago!” complained TC.

Thomas raised his hands up in defense, “Hey, hey! Don’t gang up on me guys! I’m getting the cash together, I promise. How about this, I’ll buy the next round of drinks and some food as a start. What would you like, Juliet?”

“I’ll have a Mai Tai. Thank you, Thomas.” 

He gave her a small smile as he picked up the guys’ empty beer bottles and headed towards the bar.

Juliet turned back towards Rick and TC, “So, what do you both do for work? All that Thomas has told me was that you all were in the military together.”

Rick spoke up first, “Well, last month I took out a loan and bought the last original tiki bar on Oahu. It’s called La Mariana. So far it’s been pretty great. It’s a ton of work, but I’m having a great time with it and the TC and Magnum hang out there a lot. You should join us sometimes! I promise the food is good and you’ll get free drinks!”

“That sounds lovely, Rick. I’m sure I’ll take you up on that offer,” she smiled, “What about you, TC?”

“I’m also starting out my own business,” he chuckled. “I was a marine chopper pilot when we were in Afghanistan, so I figured I would stick to what I know how to do. I run my own private helicopter tour business, Island Hoppers. So far that’s off to a decent start as well.”

“Well, I’m certainly happy that you lads seem to have an entrepreneurial spirit. Good for you both.”

Magnum returned to the table bearing a tray of drinks and some snacks. “See? I’m a generous guy! Look at this impressive spread!”

“Great job, buddy,” said Rick sarcastically, “Now you only owe us another 10K.”

Thomas rolled his eyes, “I hope you guys didn’t gossip about me the whole time I was gone.”

“You’ll be happy to know that you weren’t even mentioned,” replied Juliet. “Your wonderful friends were telling me about their respective business ventures. Quite impressive if you ask me. Didn’t you tell me on the phone yesterday that you were going to tell me about your new job, Magnum?”

“Oh yea, I did, didn't I? Well, I think this is going to impress you even more, Higgy. I’ve become a P.I.!”

Juliet raised her eyebrows in disbelief, “A P.I.? Since when has becoming a private investigator been a stable form of income? Especially for someone just starting out?”

“I’m building up my clientele,” he assured her. “I’m not cut out for a 9-5, Higgy. I think you know that. I needed a job where I can make my own hours, have some fun, and change things up often. Being a P.I. lets me do all of that stuff! Plus, I’m pretty good at finding things and helping people.”

Juliet sighed and took a sip of her drink, “Well, at least it’s legal, and much more acceptable than your previous occupation.”

TC and Rick laughed at that comment, holding up their beers so the group could toast.

“To Magnum’s new job, in all of its craziness!” Rick exclaimed.

The group laughed and clinked all of their glasses, beginning to dig into some of the food that Thomas had brought over.

Rick started talking to TC about something that had happened at La Mariana, so Juliet turned to Thomas.

“So, when is the music and performance going to start?” she asked him.

Thomas looked at his watch, “It should be in about ten minutes. I think it’ll be pretty cool.”

Juliet nodded and then looked down at her feet, “I must admit that this is probably the first festival that I’ve been to since I moved to Hawaii. I’ve been wanting to get more involved in the culture and everything, but I guess I just haven’t had the time or the friends to go with.”

“Hey, that’s ok, you’re making up for that now,” he smiled, “We all have to start somewhere. I know it can be a little scary to go out and get involved in a new place, especially if you don’t already know people. That’s why I’m so grateful for Rick and TC. We’ve all been able to explore a lot of great places on the island together.”

“Have you all hiked to Rainbow Falls?” Juliet asked. “I’ve seen pictures of it but I’d really like to see it in person. It’s absolutely breathtaking.”

“We have actually, and it’s amazing. It’s one of the most beautiful places in the world that I’ve been to. I would love to take you there soon.”

“Well,” Juliet started shyly, “I’m actually cashing in some vacation days for the next two weeks, so we could go whenever you’d like.”

Thomas beamed, “Great! It’s a date then! Is Monday ok?”

Juliet’s heart pounded at his mention of a ‘date’ as she returned his grin, “Yes, that’s fine with me.”

Their eyes met, and Juliet’s face flushed again. She was positive that she was going to look as red as a beet at the rate things were going.

“Guys! Look! I think the Luau is starting!” announced TC, pointing at the stage.

“Let's move our chairs to the other side of the table so we don’t have to turn around the whole time,” Thomas suggested to Juliet, standing up to move their chairs.

He made sure his own chair right was next to Juliet’s and took a seat. “Come on, hurry up and sit down so we don’t miss the beginning!”

Higgins sat down and watched the stage on the beach as the Hula dancers were beginning to come out.

Thomas readjusted himself in his seat, and Juliet noticed that his right arm was now resting across the back of her chair.

Butterflies swirled in her stomach as she glanced over at him. Thomas met her gaze and gave her a shy smile as if to ask if his arm around the back of her chair was ok.

Juliet couldn’t hide the huge grin that erupted over her face as she gave him a little nod before turning back towards the stage.

The dancers and music were great. Juliet regretted not experiencing some authentic Hawaiian culture sooner, but she was proud of herself for stepping out of her comfort zone with Thomas and her other new friends.

She looked over towards Rick and TC and saw Rick give her a knowing smile. She felt pretty confident now that Magnum returned her feelings, at least to some degree, and she hoped that as time went on, nights out with Thomas and his friends would become a regular occurrence.

* * *

As the sun went down, some fire dancers came out onto the stage to perform with fabulous glowing wands. Juliet was amazed at the incredible precision and skill of the men that were tossing and twirling sticks of fire.

Thomas leaned in and whispered in her ear, “These guys are amazing don’t you think? Maybe if this whole P.I. thing doesn’t work out for me I can try out to twirl fire for a living!”

Juliet laughed, “Something tells me you’ll have more luck with your cases, Thomas. I don’t know how much you can be trusted around open flames.”

Thomas let out a dramatic sigh, “I guess I should stick with what I’ve found right? It’s been paying the bills so far. Would you like anything else to eat or drink? I’d be happy to go get you something.”

“I’m fine, Thomas, thank you though,” she said as the fire dancers finished their brilliant performance.

The entire festival erupted in applause and cheers for them, and TC made a comment about how he wanted to learn how to throw fire.

“I think you’d be excellent at it TC,” Higgins told him. “It requires great precision, just like flying a helicopter.”

“Hey!” Thomas laughed, “How come he can learn and I can’t?”

Juliet rolled her eyes at him and laughed some more before the MC announced that the finale performer of the evening would be a singer playing the ukulele.

It was the perfect way to wind down a great evening, and the ukulele music was so calming and peaceful that Juliet couldn’t help but let out a yawn.

Seeing that, Thomas leaned down to whisper to her again, “You know, if you’re tired, you’re welcome to lean on me if you’d like.”

Juliet turned to face him. He looked so confident and relaxed, and his arm had never moved from its spot on the back of her chair.

Juliet had never let herself get so close to someone so quickly, but something about Thomas just made her feel completely at ease and taken care of.

“Alright,” she said quietly, leaning into his side and snuggling up to him. Feeling bold, she wrapped her right arm around his stomach as she rested her head on his shoulder.

Thomas moved his arm from the back of her chair to wrap around her shoulders and pull her closer to him, while his other hand rested on her arm that was across his middle.

Juliet felt like she was floating on a cloud. Between the beautiful music, the feeling of Thomas’ arms around her, and the wonderful smell of his cologne, this was the closest she had felt to being truly happy in a long, long time.

“I’m having an unbelievable time with you tonight, Juliet,” Thomas whispered, “I’m so thankful that we can finally spend time together and get to know each other more. I think you’re really special.”

Higgins sighed deeply, “Thank you, Thomas. I'm grateful to you and your friends for inviting me tonight. This is probably the best night I’ve had in a long time. You are—you are a special man yourself.”

She felt Magnum smile at her last comment as he rubbed her shoulder gently.

They stayed just like that until the music ended half an hour later, and the festival started to clear out. TC had offered to buy everyone a final round of drinks, and the group laughed and chatted for an hour more.

While Juliet was no longer leaning on Thomas, they were still sitting so close that their knees were touching.

If Rick and TC had noticed, neither of them had said anything, nor had they commented about the little snuggle session earlier, and for that Juliet was extremely grateful. They had sensed her shyness with the whole situation and not wanted to embarrass her.

_ These are all really good men,  _ she thought to herself as she laughed at a story Rick was telling about a drunk patron from La Mariana,  _ This is a group of people I can count on… _

After the group had finished their drinks, Thomas checked his watch.

“Geez! It’s almost midnight! Where has the night gone?”

Rick yawned, “Time flies when you’re having fun, brother. I’m ready to head home though, what about you guys?”

The rest of the friends agreed, and seeing that Thomas wanted a moment with Juliet, Rick and TC said their goodbyes.

“It was really great to meet you, Higgy,” said TC giving her a hug, “Come hang out with us at La Mariana this week! I want to hear all about how you first met Thomas and how pouty he was in the interrogation room!”

Juliet laughed, “I assure you that he was a complete drama queen. I will stop by the bar this week! I’d love to see it!”

“Looking forward to it, Jules,” Rick told her, hugging her as well. “And remember, drinks are on the house!”

“See you guys tomorrow,” Thomas said, clapping both of his friends on the back as he hugged them both, “Tonight was awesome!”

Rick and TC waved as they walked to their cars, and Magnum turned back towards Higgins.

Thomas beamed at her and held out both of his hands for her to take. “I hope you had as much fun as I did tonight. I almost wish it wasn’t as late as it is so we could go somewhere else,” he laughed.

Juliet smiled at him as she held his hands. She didn’t want the night to be over either, but fatigue was catching up with her. She was almost positive that Thomas would be completely on board with her next idea.

“Let’s have brunch tomorrow,” she suggested. There is a wonderful crepe cafe near where I live. It will be my treat,” she promised.

“That sounds amazing, Higgy. I can’t wait.”

“Splendid. I will text you the address then. Is 11 o’clock tomorrow ok with you?”

“Perfect,” Thomas replied, using their joined hands to pull her into a warm hug.

Juliet stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck, returning his hug earnestly. They hadn’t talked about how they were both feeling yet, but Juliet had a wonderful feeling that Thomas returned her feelings in spades. The last remnants of doubting thoughts about starting something with him had left her much earlier that evening, and Juliet was committed to using her time off from work to figure out if she and Thomas actually had a chance.

“I’m gonna miss you,” Thomas whispered quietly into her hair.

Juliet laughed loudly and rolled her eyes as they broke their embrace, “Oh please! You made it over a month without seeing or hearing from me; surely you can make it another 10 hours or so!”

Thomas let out another dramatic sigh, “If I must. I’ll see you tomorrow, Juliet,” he said, squeezing her hands one last time.

“Tomorrow,” she confirmed, waving to him as she started to walk away.

“Goodnight, Thomas.”

“Goodnight, Juliet.”


	8. The First Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am back with a new chapter!! Finally!! Between school and a whole mess of family issues, my life has been insane lately. This chapter took me forever to finish, and I'm really sorry for that. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think of it!

Juliet felt a rare spring in her step the next morning as she walked to the little café to meet Thomas. For the first time in years, she felt like she was  _ floating.  _ She was still on a high from the night before, and without the stress and rigor of work to bog her down, Juliet felt ready to take on the day and embrace the possibilities of what could be.

She arrived at the café before Magnum and stopped by the front door before sending him a text to let him know she was there.

_ { See you in 5 :) }  _ he replied.

When she spotted him walking towards her a few minutes later, she couldn’t help the smile from spreading across her face.

“Good morning, Higgy,” he said happily, pulling her into a hug.

“Hello,” Juliet replied into his embrace. She did not consider herself to be a ‘hugger’, but she loved the feeling of being held by Thomas. “How are you, and how was the rest of your night?”

Thomas smiled, “I’m feeling great, and hungry of course! The rest of the night was pretty low-key. I was exhausted so I went to bed as soon as I got home. What about you?”

They headed into the café to grab a table, “Oh, same for me. I had a great time but I’m not used to being out that late so I fell asleep fairly quickly.”

She had conveniently omitted the fact that she had stayed up for a couple of hours in bed just thinking. Thinking about the event, her new friends, and the potential of something new with Thomas.

Once they were seated and had ordered some brunch, Thomas brought up their upcoming hike to Rainbow Falls.

“So, I was thinking we could drive up there tomorrow morning since you said that Monday was ok? I can pick you up if you’d like. I can make us some sandwiches to bring for lunch and we can have a picnic on our hike. It’s not a very difficult trail, but it is a pretty good workout!”

“Sounds good, Magnum. What can I bring?”

“Maybe a blanket for us to sit on once we’re up there? And some sunblock I guess? I think that’s really all we’re gonna need.”

The waitress brought their food over, and Thomas was amazed at the size of his stack of crêpes.

“Woah, these are huge! And they look fantastic!”

Juliet chuckled, “I knew you’d like it here. The portions are quite sizable and the crêpes remind me of ones that I’ve had in France, though I haven't found any in America that quite measure up to classic French crêpes.”

Thomas perked up, “Speaking of France, I would love to hear more about your European adventures! You must have a lot of interesting stories from your time with MI6. Now that we’re friends and we know each other more, I was hoping that you'd like to share some more about your life before Hawaii. I know there must be some things that you can’t share, but could you at least tell me a little about some of your missions?” Thomas asked, taking a rather large bite of crêpes and getting some Nutella on his face in the process.

Juliet smiled a little at the mess he had made on his face with the chocolate spread, he really could be like a little boy sometimes. Normally, messy eating was an immediate turn off for her, but when Thomas did it she couldn’t help but think of how adorable he looked with Nutella all over his face. She handed him a napkin before speaking up.

“Well, Thomas, I did complete a few smaller missions in France. I got to know Paris very well and certainly had my fill of delicious French food, but my most important mission as a spy was in Russia. I went undercover and trained as a FSB agent for over a year. It was incredibly hard to keep my cover up for that long, even with all of my training.”

Thomas raised his eyebrows, “Russia huh? I can’t imagine trying to gain access to the FSB was easy or enjoyable. Those guys are pretty scary.”

Juliet chuckled lightly, “They can be, yes. I was more than happy to get out of there. That mission was a huge boost for my career with MI6. I was quite popular when I returned home; had my pick of any assignments I wanted…” Juliet paused then, her words trailing off and her eyes going down towards her plate as she used her fork to move some eggs around absentmindedly.

Thomas frowned at her new demeanor, “What’s wrong? Is this about why you left England?”

Juliet looked up at him again. If they were going to get closer, she knew she needed to be honest with him about what happened.

“Well, I didn’t just leave England entirely on my own accord, I was, essentially-- disavowed by MI6. There was a man I worked with there, his name was Richard. We had known each other since we both started in military intelligence and eventually; we both fell in love with each other. He had proposed to me and we even had a date set for our wedding. He was on a mission in Turkey trying to track down an assassin called Viper that our unit had been trying to nab for months. One afternoon I got word that Richard hadn’t checked in with our superiors for his weekly update. We later learned that he had been shot and his body was found washed up on the banks of the Bosporus strait.”

Thomas looked shocked, “Oh Juliet, that’s-- that’s horrible. I can’t imagine…”

“When I got that news, nothing in my life mattered anymore. I was filled with rage. I left that same night on an unsanctioned mission of my own to go after Viper. I traveled all across the Middle East, following any lead I could track down about where the monster was who had stolen one of the only people I’ve truly loved in my life from me. My bosses told me to return to the UK, that we’d get justice for Richard the right way, but all I cared about was revenge and making that man suffer. I did some truly terrible things while I was searching for Viper; things I could never repeat to anyone. Eventually, the crown had enough. They wanted nothing to do with a rogue asset who wasn’t following orders, and that’s exactly what I had become. I knew my career with MI6 was over, and I had no chance of working within any type of law enforcement agency in the UK; so I packed up my life and went as far away as I could. I really wasn’t leaving much behind in England. My parents are dead, and after the stunts I pulled, the few friends I had cut me off. It was better for me to just start over.”

Thomas gave her a small smile, “Well, I’m glad that you chose to start over here, and I’m glad that we met, as crazy as those circumstances were.”

Juliet just played with the food on her plate some more, and Thomas knew he needed to do something to get her spirits back up.

There were a few moments of silence before he continued on, “Would you like to make some more plans for this week? I have some appointments with clients and I will probably have to do some work for my cases, but I know we can still hang out. How about we meet up at La Mariana on Wednesday night? I know the guys would like to see you again. And you can cash in on those free drinks!”

The mention of the group of them all hanging out again made Juliet perk up a little, and she agreed.

Beginning to eat some of her own crepes, she asked Thomas to tell her about some of his new cases to take her mind to a different place.

* * *

“Are you always so slow when you hike, Thomas?” Juliet ribbed, putting her hands on her hips impatiently.

This was the fifth time in the last half hour that Thomas had asked Higgins if they could pause to take a break on the walk up to Rainbow Falls.

He took a deep breath, “I’m just trying to enjoy the scenery, Higgy. Look around! The flowers and the birds here are beautiful, and I know that we aren’t at the falls yet but the view is still amazing from here. We aren’t in a rush, just take it all in.”

Juliet could see what he meant, but she had never been used to ‘taking it all in’. For as long as she could remember she had always tried to complete a task as quickly as she could, whether it was in her personal life or her professional one. Now that she was looking around though, she saw all of the beauty around them that he was referring to.

“Come on, let’s take a picture, Higgy! I’ve taken some of the view but I want some of us as well!”

“I guess if you’d like to,” Juliet replied quietly.

Thomas frowned a little, “What’s wrong, Juliet? We’ve been having such a nice time today. Do you want to go back?”

“No, no— I’d like to keep going. I’m just feeling a little… off I suppose. Maybe once we eat lunch I’ll perk up a bit.”

Thomas smiled, “Ok, we’re almost there, I promise. Then we can have the amazing sandwiches that I packed!” He said, tapping on his backpack. He beckoned her over to him for the selfie, and she joined him.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side while his other arm held up the phone to take the picture.

Juliet felt the butterflies return to her stomach at the feeling of being so close to him. That alone was enough to prompt a huge grin from her face when Magnum snapped a couple of shots. She was almost reluctant to let go after he was done.

Thomas must’ve sensed this though because when they reached a set of rock stairs a few minutes later, he held out his hand for her.

“These are a little steep. I don’t want either of us to trip,” he explained innocently.

Juliet held his hand as they walked up the rock stairs, but once they had ascended them, she didn’t let go. Thomas didn’t seem to mind though.

A minute later, the thick brush and foliage gave way to a huge clearing that showcased the falls spectacularly.

“Wow,” Juliet gasped. “It’s absolutely breathtaking!”

“I know! I told you that you’d love it when you saw it for real! Let’s find a place to sit and eat.”

Since it was a Monday, the falls weren’t crowded at all and they were able to set up their picnic blanket in a place that was perfect to take in all of the beautiful falls. Thomas opened his backpack and took out everything he had packed them for lunch including sandwiches, some fruit, and chips.

Juliet was famished so she dove right in, enjoying the delicious spread. They ate in silence for a few moments before Thomas spoke.

“Higgy?”

“Yes, Thomas?”

“Can I tell you something?” He asked nervously.

“Yes… I hope it’s something good. Your expression is rather troubling.”

“No, no, no! I promise it’s good, or at least I hope you’ll think it’s good. I’m just a bit nervous… that’s all.”

Juliet gave him a small smile, “Alright, let’s hear it then.”

Thomas took a long, deep, breath before spilling his thoughts, “I—I really like you Juliet. I am so glad that we met, however weird those circumstances were. You’re the most interesting person I think I’ve ever met. Even during that month when we didn’t talk at all while the case was being finalized, I thought about you everyday, hoping that we would have a chance to get to know each other. The last 3 days that we’ve spent together have been some of the best I’ve had, especially since I moved to Hawaii. At first I thought that I would be content just being friends with you, I never thought you would ever think of me in a deeper way, but every time I see you now, my heart skips a few beats and I’m immediately ten times happier. I’m sorry if this is a lot for you, but I guess what I’m trying to say is— I’d like to give us a try as more than friends, and I was hoping that you would agree to go on a date with me? I think it would be amazing,” he smiled hopefully.

Juliet’s heart was pounding from Thomas’ confession.  _ He feels the same way!  _ Her mind shouted, and Juliet tried to rack her brain to come up with a coherent response.

“Is this not a date?” she quietly replied. “The other night when we agreed to go hiking together, I believe you said ‘it’s a date’.

Thomas perked up at her comment, “I did, didn’t I? I guess this is our first date then! I hope it’s lived up to your expectations,” he replied sheepishly.

“It’s been perfect,” she replied, taking his hand between both of hers. “You are such a sweet man, Thomas. The past few days have opened my eyes to something that I never thought was possible for myself. You have made me have feelings that I’ve never had before. Although we have not known each other for long, I feel safe and valued when I spend time with you. I’d— I’d love to see where this could go.”

Magnum looked as though he had won the lottery. He was momentarily speechless and was beaming from ear to ear. “Come here,” he requested happily, lightly tugging on her hands that were wrapped around his own to pull her into him.

Juliet enveloped him in a tender hug as she sidled up next to him.

“I’m so happy to hear that you return my feelings,” he whispered into her ear.

“I am proud to return them, Thomas. I really, really like you as well.”

They pulled back from their embrace slightly and Juliet caught Magnum’s eyes with her own. They were gorgeous golden brown pools that radiated nothing but admiration, kindness, and dare she say it; love.

Her eyes flickered from his eyes to his lips, and then back up to his eyes again. Juliet looked into them one last time before closing the small gap between them to kiss him.

Kissing Thomas felt like being swept up in a breeze of warmth and sunshine. He kissed her back passionately and moved both of his hands to cup her face, drawing small little circles with his thumbs on her cheeks.

When they broke apart for air, Juliet had a dazed grin on her face. Thomas gave her a few small kisses on her cheeks, eyelids, and the tip of her nose.

“So, does this mean you’ll be my girl?", he asked with a grin.

“Yes,” she said simply, kissing him again. “I want to be with you, Thomas. I am finally ready to open myself up to finding love again.”

Before he could start talking again, Juliet pulled him back down to her mouth to kiss him some more. Magnum relaxed and let himself soak it all in. He literally couldn’t think of a more perfect spot for their first kiss and date. With the peaceful sound of the white noise from the falls, and the lack of others around them, they were completely focused on each other.

After a few moments of kissing, Juliet rested her forehead against Thomas’ and they both closed their eyes. They sat quietly for a few moments before they shifted their positions so Juliet was tucked into Magnum’s side with his arm wrapped around her as they faced the falls.

Juliet had a tiny amount of fear in the back of her mind from being so vulnerable with Thomas so quickly. She hadn’t put her faith and trust in someone like that since she was with Richard. If Thomas broke her heart, she would completely lose all of the progress that she had made in the past few months and build up her walls again, but a little voice in her head told her that being with Thomas would be just what she needed to help her feel happy and at peace.


	9. A Night In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is 2000% fluff. I have no regrets! Only one more chapter after this one and the story will be done. I think after this I will probably stick to writing one shots because I don't have to update them routinely. I hope you all enjoy!

Juliet’s first week of time off seemed to be flying by. It was Friday, and she was currently lounging on the beach with her  _ White Knight  _ book and getting some sun. The past week had been phenomenal, and Juliet was somewhat dreading going back to work in just a little over a week’s time.

Thomas had been working a few small cases throughout the week, and was currently working on trying to catch a cheating husband in a lie somewhere on the North Shore. Despite him being moderately busy all week, he had still made time to see Juliet everyday, even if it was just to give her a hug and kiss before speeding off to do his investigating. He had been texting her while he was working as well, telling her how much he missed her and how much he wished that he could be spending time with her as opposed to trying to catch some guy committing infidelity so his wife would have more leverage during their divorce. Higgins thought back to everything they had done together this week, and a warm, pleasant feeling encompassed her whole body.

Saying goodbye to Thomas after he had dropped her off at home later on the evening after their hike had been bitter-sweet. She had been tired from their day out but she also hadn’t wanted him to leave. Thomas had stayed for a little while and watched a movie with her on her couch before kissing her forehead and leaving while she was dozing off.

The next day he had stopped by in the afternoon quickly to say hello and bring her some delicious malasadas from his favorite bakery before heading to an appointment, and on Wednesday night she had met up with Thomas, Rick, and TC at La Mariana to enjoy the free drinks she had been promised. Once again, Thomas’ friends had made her feel right at home within their group, and the lot of them had laughed and talked until past midnight.

Yesterday they had met up for a quick lunch at Kamekona’s, and then made plans to go out for a fancy dinner tonight as their first proper “dinner date”, but as the afternoon wore on, a night in with some delivery food, a movie, and Thomas to cuddle with seemed like much more fun to her.

{ _ Would you mind terribly if we just stayed in at my place tonight and went out some other night? I’m not feeling very motivated to get dressed up after my lazy day at the beach.} _

{ _ Of course Higgy _ .  _ Whatever you’d like ;)} _

{ _ Will you come over around 7? I will order some Thai food for us. _ }

{ _ Sounds amazing. Text me the address for the restaurant and I will pick it up on my way over if you’d like. I can’t wait to see you. _ }

He sent her a few kissy face emojis after that and Juliet felt her stomach flip at the thought of kissing him later. He was an amazing kisser, and Juliet knew that she would be content just kissing him for hours and forgetting about everything else. She picked up her book again and tried to get a few more pages in before packing up her things.

* * *

“Hi, Juliet—” was all that Thomas could manage before she had opened her front door and tugged him inside by the lapels of his shirt. She took the bag of food from his hands and put it aside quickly before diving for his lips.

She had been thinking of kissing him all afternoon, and decided she couldn’t wait anymore after seeing him when she opened the door.

He was freshly showered, and had put on whatever cologne he used that she loved so much.

Thomas returned her kisses eagerly, moving his hands down her body to the backs of her thighs so he could pick her up.

Juliet wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her into the living room and plopped down on the couch with her in his lap.

“This is the best greeting I think I’ve ever gotten,” he chuckled. “Thank you for the amazing kisses. I’ve been thinking about you all day.”

Juliet nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck, inhaling deeply. “I missed you, Thomas.”

“Hey! Weren’t you the one that told me that I couldn’t miss you for a day because we had gone an entire month without seeing each other?” He laughed.

“That was before all of… this,” she murmured into his neck. “I’m sorry, I just need this right now.”

“Please don’t apologize. I’ve missed you just as much. I was actually kinda happy when you asked if we could stay in tonight. This is so much more enjoyable,” he replied, burying his face in her curls.

Then, there was a loud gurgling noise that brought them out of their trance.

“Sounds like someone’s hungry,” Thomas smiled. “Come on, let’s eat some dinner and then we can pick a movie and cuddle for the rest of the night.”

Juliet nodded and got up, heading to the kitchen to grab some plates and utensils. They fixed their plates and sat down at the table to eat.

Thomas was trying to be mindful of his table manners around Juliet now that he knew how much that meant to her. She smiled when she saw him put a napkin across his lap before beginning to eat his food.

Thomas discussed his work from the day and how he was finally able to catch that cheating husband at a seedy motel in a rough part of Honolulu.

“You should be careful in those places, Thomas. I’m worried that something will happen to you one of these days since you work on all of these cases by yourself.”

“Is that you hinting that you’d like to be my partner?” he laughed. “Because I definitely wouldn’t say no to solving crimes with my beautiful, insanely-smart girlfriend.”

“I don’t want to leave my perfectly stable job at HPD, Thomas. I’m merely suggesting that you exercise caution when you’re in dangerous areas.”

“Whatever you say, but now that I’ve got that idea in my head I think it’ll stick around for a while,” he smirked.

Juliet rolled her eyes at his comment and continued eating. “How is your business overall anyways? I know that PI work is mostly by word of mouth, but you’re new to the industry. How have you been picking up clients? You seem to be doing pretty well so far in terms of the time you’ve spent working.”

“The first couple of weeks definitely had more misses than hits. I had to hang around the courthouse to try to see if people would be willing to let me take a look at their cases. I did a couple for free before I actually had a client pay me, but the last month has been better. I’ve made my clients happy so far, so hopefully they’ll recommend me if given the chance.”

Juliet smiled, “Just keep doing what you’ve been doing, Thomas. I am happy that you have found a  _ legal  _ profession that you enjoy. As you keep going, your business will increase and you’ll make more and build up your clientele.”

Thomas took her hand and kissed it a few times before meeting her gaze. “I’ve always been motivated to try my best at whatever I do, but the encouragement that I’ve gotten from you about my new job means so much to me, Juliet. I just want to do something that you are proud of me for and I want to make enough so that you aren’t questioning whether I am reliable or stable.”

Juliet smiled at him. “Thomas, I have not known you for long, but I can see what kind of a man you are. You are doing everything right if you are trying to get me to fall for you more and more everyday.”

Juliet stood up to clear their plates and brought them to the sink to wash them. As she did, Thomas followed her and wrapped his arms around her waist as he came up behind her. “Please leave those for later. I want to cuddle!” He whined, hiding his face in her neck.

Higgins chuckled and turned around to face him in the circle of his arms, “Ok, ok! Let’s go pick out a film then.”

They settled in on Juliet’s sofa and she grabbed a large fluffy blanket and a couple of pillows so that they could be extra cozy. Thomas grabbed the remote and turned the TV on.

“Can we watch  _ Pirates of the Caribbean?”  _ Juliet asked as they scrolled through a selection of films. I’ve actually never seen any of them before despite the fact that I adore Keira Knightley.”

Magnum looked shocked, “You’ve never seen  _ Pirates of the Caribbean?!  _ That’s just criminal, Higgy!” He exclaimed before selecting the film and wrapping his arm around her shoulders to pull her flush against him.

As the movie began, Juliet absentmindedly switched back and forth between watching the film and looking at Thomas. Every so often he would meet her gaze and they would kiss briefly before turning back to the screen.

About halfway through, Juliet decided that while the movie was very good, Thomas was 10 times better. She sat up and threw one leg over his body, straddling him. She said nothing but just gave him a cocky grin as she leaned down to kiss him. Thomas returned her smile and quickly paused the film before claiming her lips.

They kissed deeply as Juliet’s hands ran up and down his torso, stopping in certain places to feel his impressive chest. Her hands moved to the bottom of his shirt, rucking it up so she could finally get her hands on his smooth, caramel skin.

Thomas tightened his grip on her waist and trailed his hands upwards to just barely graze the sides of her breasts before he broke their kiss, “Are you sure about this, Higgy?” He panted. “I don’t want us to do anything too soon that would make you uncomfortable.”

Higgins sat up in this lap, pressing her core against his growing bulge as she stripped herself of her tank top, causing Thomas to groan. “Do I look uncomfortable to you, Magnum?” She said, eyes blaring into his.

Thomas shook his head as his breath hitched at the sight of her in just her small lounge shorts and a black sports bra as her fingers made trails on his chest under his shirt.

Finally, Juliet pulled his shirt up and off of him. “You won’t be needing that anymore tonight,” she whispered to him. “And you look so much better without it.”

With that, Thomas lost any shred of self control that he had been holding on to and tugged her sports bra off before pulling her down against him so they were chest to chest. Juliet wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him fiercely as her bare breasts rubbed against his pecs. It was heavenly.

“You are so perfect,” he mumbled between kisses. “You’re the angel that I’ve been waiting for my whole life. I’m so glad we’ve found each other.”

Juliet broke their kiss briefly, “I’ve never really been good with words to express my emotions, so I’m hoping that you’ll let me show you how much I’m falling for you.”

Thomas grabbed both of her hands and laced their fingers together, “Nothing would make me happier.”

* * *

Later on as they lay naked in her bed, Juliet thought that there was no way that her life could be any better than it was right now. The sheet was lightly covering them as she listened to Thomas’ steady heartbeat. She would be content to fall asleep right on his chest as he held her and drew patterns lazily across her bare back.

“When you go back to work, do you think that we can still see each other everyday?” Thomas asked.

His question brought her out of her pleasant musings, “With your client schedule and my very long days, it may not be everyday, but I promise you that I want to see you as often as I can,” she said, bringing his hand up to her lips.

Thomas pouted, “I figured that. We’ve just been lucky while you’re taking time off I guess.”

“I want to be with you, Thomas,” she said firmly. “We will make it work. And even if we can’t see each other everyday we can still text and Facetime.”

“That’s true,” he replied, “But you know, if you became my partner we could see each other everyday  _ and  _ still get to do a job that we both love!”

Juliet laughed, “I already told you, Thomas; I’m very happy being a detective with HPD. My hours may be long, but the job is very rewarding- after all, it led me to you.”

“Also true,” said, Thomas as he nuzzled her hair. “I’m almost thankful I got involved in that whole scheme. It was totally worth it!”

Juliet smacked his chest playfully, “Don’t you dare say that! You better not ever get arrested or caught up in any trouble ever again!”

“I won’t, Higgy. I promise you. Everything else I have in life right now is way too important to jeopardize my freedom, especially you. Now, are you too tired for another round or would you like me to make you come a few more times?” He mumbled into her ear.

His words sent a rush of warmth straight to her core and reminded her of their earlier activities on the couch, in the shower, and then in her bed. “Maybe just… one more?” she asked innocently.

Thomas flipped them so that he was lying above her and beamed, “Your wish is my command, Higgy.”


	10. Declarations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been like a month since my last update and for that I'm sorry! I am happy that I have finally finished this story though! I feel like I've been working on it forever. As usual, please excuse any OOC fluffiness. It appears that fluff is all that I'm capable of writing :) Enjoy!!

“Welcome back, Higgins,” Katsumoto greeted as she trudged into the precinct the following Monday. She had NOT been excited to come into work this morning; especially after the two weeks of heaven that she had just experienced with Thomas. She knew the fantasy of not working and spending all of her time with Magnum and her other new friends was not a reality and that she would have to face the real world eventually, but that didn’t stop her from wishing that she was cuddling in bed with a certain someone instead of getting ready be to be assigned some new cases. A part of her had missed some of her colleagues though, and Gordon had always been a friendly face to break up the monotony.

  


“Good to see you, Gordon,” she replied with a smile. “I hope I haven’t missed anything too hectic whilst I’ve been on holiday.”

  


“Nothing too major. Just more of the same old things: a couple of drug busts, three homicides, and one kidnapping. Did you have a nice few weeks off though? You really deserved it.”

  


A huge smile emerged on Juliet’s face as she thought of how truly wonderful the past few weeks had been, “Yes, it was some of the most fun I’ve had in my life.”

  


Katsumoto gave her a little smile, “You met someone didn’t you?”

  


“Why would you think that?” Juliet chuckled.

  


“You just have a certain glow now; the type of glow that follows someone who is newly in love.”

  


Higgins grinned at her feet at that comment. As crazy as it felt, she truly believed that she had fallen in love with Thomas Magnum over the course of two weeks. Even though she had not told Thomas that she loved him yet, a small part of her was still hesitant about falling so quickly and wondered if she was being too rash, but she had never felt this way about anyone else before. He had treated her with more kindness and affection than she had ever known.

  


“I may have found someone… but I have also made some new friends as well and seen and experienced some island culture. It felt really good to take some time for myself and not have to worry about cases or catching criminals for a few weeks.”

  


Gordon clapped lightly a few times, “I’m proud of you, Juliet. I think you are finally finding your stride here in Hawaii and I'm really happy for you.”

  


“Thank you, Gordon. I truly appreciate that.”

* * *

“Hey, Juliet! Nice to see you!” A voice had called to her from down the hallway.

  


When Higgins looked up, she saw Officer Tani Rey strolling towards her. Juliet smiled and gave her a little wave, “Hello Tani, how have you been?”

  


“I’ve been doing really well. It’s been a little busy though. I heard you took some time off. Did you have a nice vacation?”

  


“I did, it was very rejuvenating.” Juliet replied.

  


“How’s Thomas doing? He must be more amazing than any of us thought based on the day-dreaming look on your face.”

  


That comment took Juliet aback. She thought she had been so careful with making sure no one from work saw her with Magnum!

  


“Thomas? Who’s that?” Juliet stuttered, trying to play dumb.

  


“Oh come on, Higgins. Thomas Magnum? I saw the two of you at Kamekona’s a month back while his case was still ongoing and you looked smitten then. I’m not judging, though. He’s pretty hot and he actually seems like a decent guy. Besides, I wasn’t going to tell on you, especially when I’m trying to keep my own relationship on the down-low.”

  


Juliet raised her eyebrows, “You and Junior are together aren’t you? I had a feeling about you two… look, I know that I can’t technically be punished now for my relationship with Thomas, but I’d still prefer that no one around here found out about it.”

  


Tani smiled, “Your secret is safe with me, Higgins. And for what it’s worth, I actually think you guys are cute together. He’ll stay out of trouble now that he’s with you and he seems like more of a cinnamon roll than anything else. Can I count on you to keep my secret if I keep yours?”

  


“My lips are sealed,” said Juliet confidently, picking up a stack of papers from the fax machine.

  


“Awesome,” Tani smiled. “You know, we should hang out sometime after work or something! There’s not many people around here to have girl time with and you seem like you’re actually a fun person under that tough, British, persona.”

  


Juliet laughed a little, “I’d quite like that actually. I made some new friends during my time off, but they’re Thomas’ buddies from the military. I’m in need of some girlfriends as well.”

  


Tani’s phone began to ring and she started back down the hall again, “Sounds like a plan. I still have your number from when we were working on that art theft case, so let’s get in touch later this week to plan where we can go. See you later!” she called, hurrying off.

  


Juliet smiled at herself once more, Gordon was right. Her life in Hawaii was finally starting to take shape.

As the workday drew to a close, the butterflies rapidly grew in Juliet’s stomach. Thomas had been sending her texts all day to check in with her at work and to tell her how excited he was to see her that evening.

  


As she bid Gordon goodnight and hurried out to her car, Thomas texted her a picture of a delicious looking lasagna that he had prepared for them to enjoy upon her arrival at his apartment.

* * *

When Thomas opened his door she melted into his arms, basking in the warm, welcoming feeling of feeling totally safe and loved that radiated when she was with Thomas.

  


“Where’s my kiss?” Thomas asked playfully, “I’ve had to go all day long without one.”

  


Juliet stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply. “You smell wonderful,” she whispered in his ear, “I was counting the hours left in the day before I could see you again.”

  


Thomas kissed her neck briefly before looking at her lovingly. “If you were my partner you wouldn’t have to wait all day to see me.”

  


“If I was your partner we would never get any work done!” She laughed, pushing him away playfully to take a closer look at the lasagna which had filled the entire apartment with an amazing smell.

  


“Thank you for cooking,Thomas. Everything smells lovely.”

  


“Anything for my favorite girl. Especially after a day of hard work and crime fighting!” He replied happily, slicing a piece of the lasagna for her.

  


Juliet ate quickly because she was so hungry and Thomas had done a phenomenal job with dinner; he had even made some snickerdoodle cookies for dessert. They had then retired to the couch to watch some TV.

  


“That was the best lasagna I’ve ever had, Thomas. Thank you so much again for dinner and a nice, relaxing evening.” 

  


She looked at her watch, “I really must be heading home now, though. I need to shower and look at a few papers before I head off to bed.”

  


Thomas’ smile faltered a little bit, “Can’t you stay here tonight? You can shower and all of that stuff here.”

  


“I wish I could but I don’t have any more changes of clothes here, and I would have to wake up much too early tomorrow morning to run home and grab my things. I’m sorry, Thomas. We will have sleepovers this whole weekend, I promise.”

  


Thomas looked down at his feet and spoke quietly, “I understand, Juliet. I guess it’s just the fact that we’ve spent every night of this past week together and I’ve gotten used to falling asleep while holding you. I just wish we didn’t have to say goodbye at night.”

  


Juliet had the same wish, but every part of her was screaming that it was way too soon for them to live together full-time. They had only been an official couple for two weeks! Juliet knew that they probably should be taking things more slowly than they had been, no matter how much she missed him during the day and how hard she was falling for him.

  


She pulled Thomas into her arms and hugged him tight. Thomas immediately wrapped his arms around her waist and nestled his nose in the crook of her neck. 

  


“Goodnight, Thomas. I will text you tonight once I’m home and ready to go to sleep and I will call you tomorrow. What’s that saying? Absence makes the heart grow fonder?”

  


Thomas gave her a little smile, “Yes, that’s it. I know it will be true for me.”

  


They held each other for a minute more before pulling back slowly. Thomas caught her chin with his fingertips and guided her lips to his so they could kiss.

  


The rational side of Juliet knew they needed to slow things down; but good lord, Thomas wasn’t making it easy on her. The temptation to just stay with him for the rest of the night was strong as he kissed her deeply and played with her blonde curls.

  


He pulled back before kissing her one last time, “Sweet dreams, Juliet. Goodnight.”

* * *

Juliet was extra groggy at work the next morning. She had tossed and turned all night, discovering she missed sleeping with Thomas just as much as he missed sleeping with her.

  


Her thoughts were quickly diverted because of a new homicide case that was dumped on her desk by Sergeant Masters, which led to a long afternoon that consisted of interviewing witnesses and members of the victim’s family. It was after nine by the time she finally got back home.

  


When she looked at her phone and saw a few text messages from Thomas, she felt bad about not responding to him all day. She knew that he was aware that she was busy, but she didn’t want him to believe that she was too busy to talk with him.

  


{ _ Hello Thomas, sorry I have missed your messages. I am just now getting home after a long day. I will call you in the morning. Goodnight.} _

  


Thomas responded back quickly with a few kiss emojis and a heart, making her heart happy.

  


She had promised Tani a girl’s night on Friday, but she also wanted to make sure she spent as much time with Thomas over the weekend as she possibly could.

  


An idea struck her and she decided to message Tani with her plan to get the best of both worlds for the upcoming weekend.

  


{  _ Hi! This is Juliet. Would you like to have our girl’s night on Friday at a cute tiki bar called La Mariana? I am friends with the owner and could probably get us some drinks on the house! Let me know if that sounds ok to you.} _

  


This way, she could spend time with Tani and probably also run into Thomas since he practically lived at La Mariana.

  


A few minutes later, Tani responded:

  


{ _ Sure that sounds cool! I’ve heard about that place but I've never been! I was thinking of inviting my friend who works at the ME’s office as well… her name is Noelani. You’ll really like her! _ }

  


Juliet felt a little nervous at the mention of someone else joining them, but she reminded herself that she had come so far over the past month in terms of meeting new people and making friends, so she reassured herself that everything would be fine.

  


{ _ Sounds lovely. Let’s plan to meet there around 7. _ }

* * *

When Friday finally rolled around, Juliet was drained from her first week back at work. She had almost forgotten how demanding and time consuming being a detective was. She and Tani had chatted briefly in the precinct that afternoon to finalize their plans for the evening at La Mariana, and Juliet finished up the last of her paperwork around 5 o’clock before heading home to change and put some makeup on.

  


On Wednesday, she had told Thomas about her Friday night plans and he had been happy to hear that she was making more friends, especially through work. He had asked her if it was ok if he dropped by at some point to say hi before hanging out with Rick and TC at the bar. When she had told him ‘Of Course!’, he laughed and said he just didn’t want to embarrass her in front of her coworkers.

  


“Tani already knows about us, Thomas. She has promised to be discreet. And besides, I am not embarrassed about us!” She had assured him.

  


Juliet smiled at herself in the mirror as she thought about Thomas and how he had said that he hadn’t wanted to embarrass her. A couple of months ago, being with him certainly would have made her feel ashamed and she would’ve never entertained the thought of having Thomas Magnum as her boyfriend.

  


But now that she had gotten to know him and saw who he really was, she couldn’t be prouder to be with him, and she was now fully confident that she was in love with him. She made a promise to herself that she would finally confess her feelings to him completely this weekend.

“Over here, Tani!” Juliet called from a table in the corner.

  


Tani hurried over to the table and sat down, “What a week am I right? You came back to a shitstorm of crazy cases!”

  


“Indeed I did. I feel like I’ve spent more time at my desk this past week than during the rest of my time with the department all together.”

  


Just then, another woman approached their table a little shyly.

  


“Noelani!” Tani exclaimed excitedly, “So glad you could join us! This is Juliet Higgins. She’s the detective who I worked together with on that big art theft case about a month back. Juliet, this is Noelani Cuhna, the Honolulu County medical examiner.”

  


“Hi Juliet,” Noelani said, shaking her hand, “It’s so nice to meet you! Tani said you’re an awesome detective and she had a good time working with you on the Candler case. I don’t know about you, but other than Tani I’m seriously lacking in my number of girlfriends that I can go out with! I’m so glad we could all meet up tonight!”

  


“Pleased to meet you as well, Noelani. We’re very similar because prior to about a month ago, I had no friends at all. I’m very fortunate to know the owner of this cute little tiki bar though. I believe that I can get us the best service possible and some free drinks as well!”

  


Juliet looked around and spotted Rick behind the bar and waved him over to their table. Rick gave her a huge smile and then semi-jogged over to them.

  


“Hey Jules! These must be your lovely new friends from work! Welcome ladies!” He said suavely, “I’m Rick and I just bought this place a couple months back. It’s the last original tiki bar on the island!”

  


“Cool,” Tani laughed. “Juliet mentioned something about some complimentary drinks? Or maybe a friendly discount?”

  


“Juuuules!” Rick whined, “If I keep giving out all of these free things I’m gonna be put out of business!

  


“Oh come on now, Rick! You gave me a few drinks on the house last week. What harm could a round of cocktails for a group of hard-working women in law enforcement do?” Juliet asked innocently.

  


“Alright, alright,” Rick laughed, giving in. “But only because you’ve been making Thomas happier than he’s ever been since you came into his life. Are Mai Tai’s ok for you all? They are the signature drink of La Mariana after all!”

  


Juliet looked at the other women who nodded their approval before turning back to Rick, “That sounds perfect, Rick. Thanks so much.”

  


As Rick hurried off to get their drinks, Noelani commented on what he had said, “So, who was that ‘Thomas’ that he was talking about? Is he your boyfriend?”

  


Juliet blushed and looked at Tani quickly. “She’s cool, Higgins. She can keep the secret.”

  


Juliet sighed and couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face, “Yes. He is my boyfriend. We actually met during that case that Tani and I worked on. He was--I can’t believe I’m admitting this-- a suspect in that case.”

  


Noelani laughed, “Wow! That’s crazy! So how did you realize you had feelings for him? He didn’t actually get charged, did he?”

  


“No, no!” Juliet replied quickly, “He’s a great man, he was just caught up in a tricky situation. I guess I had some incklings of my feelings early on, but it wasn’t till after the case was finally closed when we actually started seeing each other. First as friends and then it grew into more-- rather quickly, actually.”

  


Juliet was beet red and she looked down at her hands in her lap.

  


“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, Juliet! Love can find you when you least expect it! I’m still waiting to get swept off of my feet,” Noelani said. “Maybe I’m in the wrong profession! Tani met Junior on the job because they’ve been working together and you were able to find someone there as well; however unconventional it might’ve been. There aren’t any cute guys in the ME’s office!”

“All in due time girl! Like you said, love can find you when you’re least expecting it!” Tani added. “So tell us more about Thomas, Juliet! How wonderful is he? You’ve had the complete look of love at work so I know everything must be going well!”

  


“He’s the best man I’ve ever met,” Juliet gushed. She just couldn’t help but beam whenever she started talking about him. 

  


“He’s just so kind and caring and he does whatever he can to make me happy. He cooks for me, he’s a fantastic cuddler, and he is extremely supportive of me. He was in the military as well, and he’s also introduced me to his best friends from the service; Rick being one of them. His other friend,TC, is probably around here somewhere. They practically live at this establishment.”

  


Just then, a waiter had returned to their table to drop off their drinks and take their orders for a few appetizers to share. The three new friends then launched into a long, vivid discussion about work, island life, and hobbies.

  


Juliet talked about her love of hiking, and how Thomas had asked her to be his girlfriend on a picnic during their Rainbow Falls hike.

  


“That’s too romantic!” Tani squealed. “He really is the man of your dreams isn’t he?”

  


“Yes,” Juliet replied quietly. “I had really thought that I would never find anyone like him. I had already accepted the fact that I was going to be single for the rest of my life. It almost feels too good to be true. I--I really love him.”

  


“It’s really sweet to see talk about him. We can tell that you really do love him. Have you told him yet?” Noelani asked.

  


“No, not yet. We haven’t been together for very long, and I’m worried that telling him this soon may scare him off.”

  


“I think you should go for it,” Tani said, smirking at Juliet. “I think you won’t be disappointed.”

  


“Who should go for what?” A voice asked behind her. Juliet turned around to see Thomas smiling at her.

  


She immediately flushed crimson and stuttered as she tried to greet him, “H-hello, Thomas. What a pleasant surprise.”

  


“You know how much time I spend here, Higgy! And you knew you’d run into me here on your girls night!” He chuckled. “Nice to see you again, Officer Rey! And who is your other new friend?”

  


“This is Noelani Cuhna. She’s the medical examiner for Honolulu County.”

  


“Nice to meet you, Noelani! I trust you’ve heard all good things about me from my stunning girlfriend,” he teased.

  


“We’ve heard plenty, Magnum,” Tani laughed, “Where’s your little heist buddy? What was his name-- Jin?”

  


Thomas pouted dramatically, “He’s not my buddy! Never was! And he’s partially the reason why I almost went to jail!”

  


“Now, now, Thomas. It’s ok, darling. That’s all over now!” Juliet giggled, grabbing his hand softly.

  


Her touch and words seemed to calm him down, and Thomas declared that he was going to say hi to TC at the bar and get a beer.

  


“Wow,” Noelani whispered.

  


“What?”

  


“He IS your dream man! Not to mention he’s incredibly hot! You’re a lucky girl, Juliet! Does he have a single twin or something for me?”

  


“He is rather easy on the eyes isn’t he?” Juliet replied, watching Thomas joke with his buddies as he took a sip of his beer.

  


“You may as well tell him how you feel,” Tani added. “I’m almost 100% sure that he feels the same way.”

  


“You might get your chance sooner than you thought! He’s heading back over here,” said Noelani.

“Can I talk to you on the patio real quick?” Thomas asked shyly.

  


“Sure,” Juliet smiled, getting up to follow Thomas. Both Tani and Noelani gave her big smiles as she took his hand to walk outside.

  


As soon as they were on the patio and had found a secluded spot, Juliet was about to ask him why he had wanted to speak with her alone, but she was quickly pulled into Thomas’ arms and kissed firmly.

  


“I’ve  _ *kiss*  _ missed  _ *kiss*  _ you  _ *kiss*  _ so much  _ *kiss*  _ this week,” he breathed out between kisses.

  


“I’ve missed you too, Thomas,” she chuckled as he pulled her closer.

  


“I’m hoping that we can spend some quality time together this weekend. Do you think we could go hiking again or do something else outside? The weather is supposed to be beautiful tomorrow,” Thomas asked as he swayed them gently and nuzzled her nose.

  


“That sounds like a wonderful idea, Thomas. It would be a great chance for us to talk some more about us and where our relationship is heading.”

  


Thomas raised his eyebrows and chuckled lightly, “I hope that’s a good thing, because my feelings for you have just been getting stronger and stronger everyday.”

  


“It’s a great thing! I just have some things that I’d like to tell you about how I’ve been feeling lately.”

  


“What’s wrong with telling me now?” He smiled, looking into her eyes. “I’d love to hear how you feel.”

  


Juliet swallowed and looked at her feet. Should she really tell him now? She was in the middle of a night out with her new girlfriends! And despite them encouraging her to share her feelings with him, she didn’t want her confession to feel rushed; but the way Thomas was looking at her just made her feel at ease in telling him there and now.

  


“I-I love you, Thomas,” she said quietly. “I’ve known for a little while now, but I’ve just been afraid to tell you since everything is still so new. The way you make me feel, it’s-- it’s the most special feeling I’ve ever had,” she confessed before closing the small space between them to kiss him gently.

Thomas responded to her kiss immediately, leaning up against the side of the building with her while running his hands around her waist and just under the hem of her top.

  


Her breath hitched as she felt his warm hands caressing her waist as one of his thumbs rubbed a small circle across her belly button.

  


“I love you so much, Juliet,” he murmured against her lips. “I’ve been bursting to tell you but I didn’t want to scare you away. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of me though. Now I can say ‘I love you’ whenever I want!”

  


He kissed her a little more before whispering, “Do you think we could go home soon? I want to cuddle with you. I’ve really missed that this week since we’ve been apart.”

  


A pleasant feeling of warmth rushed over Juliet as she looked at her watch, “It’s closing in on 11:30, and I’ve had quite a long week. Surely the girls will understand if I call it a night now,” she smiled.

  


“Are you sure?” Thomas asked, “I know what I said, but I don’t want to make you feel as if you need to leave because of me.”

  


Juliet pecked his lips once more, “I’m sure, Thomas. I’m exhausted, and falling asleep with you is the only thing I’d like to be doing later. I’ve had a great night with Tani and Noelani. Let me go inside and let them know that I’m tired and I’m going to be calling it a night.”

  


Just then, as if on cue, Tani and Noelani walked out on the patio.

  


“No need, Jules. We figured you two were still out here chatting! We’re both heading home too. It’s been a tiring week for all of us. Junior is picking me up here in a few minutes,” Tani explained.

  


“I loved this place Juliet! We thanked your friend Rick again for the free drinks! We definitely need to come back here again. The food was pretty good too! It was great to meet you!” Noelani said with glee, hugging Juliet quickly.

  


“Yea La Mariana is great! Love the vibe. It was good to see you again, Magnum. I’m glad you’ve gotten your act together. Getting busted by HPD seems to have paid off pretty nicely for you,” Tani laughed, glancing between Thomas and Juliet.

  


“I actually think that it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Thomas smiled, gazing directly into Juliet’s eyes.

  


Juliet returned his smile and blushed a little as he wrapped his arm around her.

  


Junior pulled up in his car and Juliet hugged Tani goodbye, thanking her again for introducing her to Noelani and having the idea for the girl’s night in the first place.

  


Noelani said her final goodbye as well and headed to her car, leaving Thomas and Juliet standing on the patio alone.

  


“Are you ready to go home?” Thomas whispered, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

  


Juliet turned her face towards his in their embrace, “More than ready, my love.”

  


Thomas pressed a light kiss to her neck, “Not that we’ve declared our love for each other, does that mean you’ll change your mind on becoming my partner?”

  


Juliet laughed a little and threaded her fingers through his that were resting on her belly, “You may have stolen my heart, but it’ll take a little more time for me to think about that proposition.”

  


“That’s not a no,” Thomas smiled.

  


“No. No it is not,” Juliet replied, smiling before leaning in for another kiss.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this story! I truly hoped you enjoyed my first attempt at writing something multi-chaptered. I think for the near future I am going to stick to more one-shots though since I don't have to update them *sweats*. Anyways, please let me know any final thoughts that you may have about this story and anything that you'd like to see from me in the future... Thanks again for reading!! It seriously means the world!

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you thought and what you would like to see in upcoming chapters!


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